


It Runs in the Family

by WampusRoar13



Series: Peverell Lines Run Deep [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: And Gets it!, Confession, Creature Inheritance, F/M, Gen, Good Albus Dumbledore, Gryffindor Heir Harry POTTER, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, Harry Potter is Not Stupid, Harry is Lily's Son Too, Hedwig (Harry Potter) Lives, Hedwig Deserves Better, Heir of Slytherin Harry Potter, M/M, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Peverell Heirs, Severitus | Severus Snape is Harry Potter's Parent, mentions of mpreg, shower scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2020-06-29 04:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 87,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19822519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WampusRoar13/pseuds/WampusRoar13
Summary: In the culmination of a massive secret plot, Harry Potter sets out to prove just how much he takes after his grandparents, the Deathly Trio, and finally brings them together after a century of avoidance. When the Order goes on their mission to retrieve Harry from the Dursleys, the night isn't going to go quite how they expected. What can he say? It runs in his family.





	1. Prologue: Marauding Peverell's

Prologue: Marauding Peverell’s

_ September 1974 _

“How did he manage to get you all kicked out this time?”

“Set a cretin gnome loose on the heartless btich’s house elf while he was serving tea. Only took him three days to execute; he’s getting pretty good at it.”

“What did Abby say?”

“He scolded him for causing trouble; after she cursed him the other month I was worried too… But, he laughed his ass off once the boys went upstairs.”

“She didn’t?” the Director hissed nastily.

Orion saw two secretaries, where they were entering the small room that housed the elevators, quickly turn on their heels to vacate the space with the angry vampire. He said nothing, not feeling his friend should have to be self conscious for cowardly individuals, “She did. I threatened her to within an inch of her life, but it makes me terrified to go to work every other week. Reggie’s gotten good at flying under her radar, but Sirius… You know how he is, Perce.”

Percival Graves sighed as he and Orion waited for the elevator. The wizards were heading back toward his office from their ally conference, which had dragged on too damn long. Both were ready to grab their jackets and get to dinner, needing to be anywhere but work. 

The Director did in fact know how is oldest godson was. Sirius Orion Black treated being in Gryffindor as a way of life. He admitted, “Britain may not have done the same Statute of Secrecy crap, but Europe’s magical family law is as ancient and shitty as anywhere.”

“Who are you telling?” The Black Lord demanded, “I don’t even know of anywhere else that magical marriage contracts are still a thing. Who let’s parents make teenagers sign something like that?” Orion growled, “Cygnus threatened to do it to his girls; I told him he’d never get another penny from our family and that’s only if I didn’t kill him. If Sirius or Reggie ever even… Sometimes I don’t know why Abby puts up with me and my family.”

“You’re his mate and he loves you. You can’t help that your father was a bastard,” Percy reminded him, “I knew the rogue wasn’t going to risk being at Grimmauld Place before he went back anyway. He’d die if Aberforth didn’t put him on that train.”

Of course, the rogue wasn’t his only nephew at Hogwarts anymore, “How’s Reg liking school?”

“He’s fine, he’s got Cissy and her friend, Severus. Boy’s not crazy about being apart from Sirius so much, but it’s part of being in different houses; he’ll be fine,” Orion was glad for his youngest niece. He was even more ecstatic that, with both boys in school, he didn’t have to spend every other week at Grimmauld place with Walburga. At least until summer rolled back around.

“ I thought Sirius’ first letter was going to burst into flames like a howler, he was so excited,” Orion chuckled, “He keeps talking about getting his lion.”

“Jamie too,” Percival huffed, “We’re never going to keep them from it until they’re seventeen.”

“I want to agree with you, but Abby’s determined. I’m not getting involved, he and Sirius can duke it out.”

The vampire laughed, “I’ll put money on the boys; we’re getting too old to win against the new generation.”

The Black Lord groaned, “Don’t remind me. I’m already dreading turning fifty this year.”

“You are the youngest person in the family!” Percy reminded him, “The kids excluded, obviously.”

“I know, but it still bugs me. Besides, you’ve been thirty-five for a damn eon by now.”

Rolling his eyes the Director acknowledged, “That part’s true.”

There was silence for several long moments and Orion studied his best friend. He could tell that the vampire was lost in thought, as the Graves Lord stood perfectly still, not bothering to keep up the constant movement that he was so used to exhibiting at work, “Why don’t you just go see him? Fire call and talk? Send a letter, anything?”

The Director huffed, eyes moving down to stare at his feet, “I don’t know anymore. What would I even say?”

“I love you, I miss you, I’m not even mad anymore,” A femine voice joined them in the little room housing the elevators, “By the way, take your pants off because I’m coming over.”

Orion laughed so hard he had to lean on the wall beside the elevator shaft. He couldn’t deny that Porpentina Scamander was one of his favorite people. The woman took absolutely no shit from her declared work husband and he loved the way that she challenged his and his mate’s best friend. Once he could breathe, even as Percy shook his head at her, the siren exclaimed, “That works!”

“That does not work,” Percy hissed at his work wife, “Besides, it’s been decades. He may not even want to speak to me anymore.”

Now it was Tina who rolled her eyes, “Percy, the man could break out any time he wanted; he’s proven that many times. It’s his own damn castle! The only reason he’s stayed in time out is because of you. You were genuinely mad at him and he can’t stand that.”

He huffed, “I’ll think about it, just... New topic, please.”

The elevator sounded it’s arrival and as they all stepped in Tina acquiescing to his request, “So, how’s it feel to be an old man?”

“You are older than me!” Orion said with mock offense.

“Yeah, but now you’re officially going to be one of us!” Tina told him, “Bet Sirius has had a field day with that.”

He groaned, “Damn straight he has. I don’t want to be fifty!”

“Then don’t,” Percy said dryly, as the doors started sliding shut, “You are a siren, it’s your choice.”

Tina puffed at him exasperated, “Says the man who loved being fifty and who has stayed deaged for someone he’s not even speaki…”

A hand dashed in to stop the doors right before the doors closed. When it popped back open and Albus Dumbledore realized who was in the elevator, they could all see that he wished he hadn’t caught it. After a moment of shock, he stepped into the golden machine with them, pressing the button for the floor below Percy’s office. He kept his back to the three and his lips tight, obviously refusing to say a word.

Percy and Orion both rolled their eyes meeting glances, before the Graves Lord took an even breath, refusing to give an audible show of his frustration, as he cast his eyes upwards staring at the ceiling. He prayed to Mary and Morgana that the ride would be blessedly short. 

Irritated with his brother in law, Orion glanced over to Tina and realized that she was glaring absolute daggers into Albus’ head for ignoring her best friend and work husband. He knew that the woman was protective of Percival; had been since he returned from spousal abduction to the states with Flea. Her resentment was only intensified by the way Albus had ignored his family since their infant daughter was kidnapped by muggle extremists. Although Aberforth and Albus had started talking again, tentatively, when Sirius started Hogwarts, Orion wasn’t thrilled with him either and did not like being ignored when the brothers were supposed to be in contact.

As the door slid shut, he had a thought, “Sirius was telling me that Jimmy placed team Captain over the summer, how did it go?”

Over the years, Percival Graves had been hatefully told that vampires couldn’t feel and were heartless a million times. When he glanced toward Orion’s reflection and spotted Albus Dumbledore’s horrified expression at the nickname in the reflecting elevator metal, it became his personal mantra for several seconds, to keep himself for busting out laughing. They were all shielding at work, but he would have given anything to hear what the fae and genius was thinking in that moment.

Luckily Tina didn’t even miss a beat, popping her ‘boss’ in the shoulder, “Oh, you didn’t tell me that! Tell Jim I said congratulations!”

“I will,” He said smoothly, glancing at her with a small grin for covering for him, “It went very well. He managed to get invited back to lead the team again next year. Flea and I were surprised when Sirius didn’t join.”

“Heartless bitch wouldn’t sign; they required dual consent,” Orion growled, “He showed out so badly, that’s when she cursed him.”

“Jimmy mentioned she had something to do with it,” Percy acknowledged, “When he turned up at the house. He seemed excited to play the team’s mascot though.”

“Getting my oldest to show out is never a challenge,” Orion admitted, “I’m sure he made a right spectacle.”

“Did he manage to get you three back to Hogsmeade before school started?” Tina asked the Black Lord.

“That he did,” Orion smiled, “Used a cretin gnome this time.”

“Points for originality,” Tina told them as the doors slid open. 

Albus Dumbledore stepped out quickly, face still looking like he had tasted a lemon, and disappeared around the nearest corner. The three of them shared a look as the door started closing once more. As soon as it was shut, they all burst out laughing. Orion leaned back on the furthest wall of the elevator to hold himself up. While Tina’s head fell forward onto Percy’s shoulder, her whole body shaking.

The vampire shook his head at the two, wiping a tear from his eye, “We’re all going straight to hell.”

“Jewish,” Tina reminded him playfull for the billionth time in their fifty years together at Macusa, “Go to confession, you’ll be fine.”

Percy snorted, “Forgive me father, for I have sinned… My best friend’s brother in law was being a prick, so we screwed with him.”

Orion laughed, “Can’t you just say mate? It’s less of a mouthful.”

“Own it,” Tina encouraged, “You’ll feel better.”

“He’s had that shit shut down for so long,” Percy sighed, “I don’t think it’s applicable if you’ve never said two words to one another.”

“Not even when Blondie went to prison?” Tina asked him, “Nothing? Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Albus is the master of avoidance,” Orion told her, as they stepped out of the elevator, heading for Percy’s office, “There’s a reason he took so long to confront Gellert. A blood pact promising to always love each other didn’t keep him from jack shit, and even then, Percy had already done the hard part to make The Liberator want to break that wand in half when he took Flea away.”

“Fair,” Tina moved on quickly, remembering that Percy had already tolerated talk of his other mate as much as he would today. She didn’t blame him honestly; neither of Percy’s mates were prizes in her opinion, “Where are you two heading?”

“Dinner, care to join us?”

“Can’t, Mora had her foal. I promised to help after work,” Tina told them, stepping into her office to grab her coat, before catching up to them in Percy’s. 

“The auburn hippogriff, right?” Percy clarified.

“Yep!”

“Give my congratulations to all,” The Director encouraged as she quickly took off for home. He and Orion headed back toward the elevators once more, moving for the international floo network to wait on Abby to join them in the states for a night in New York.

When the bar owner arrived he saw immediately that his younger mate and best friend were entirely too happy, “What is it?”

“Can’t we just have a good day?” Orion asked, stealing a kiss as they finally moved out of Macusa.

“At an international conference full of all day meetings?” Aberforth reminded sarcastically, “No, no you cannot.”

“He’s got you there,” Percy pointed out. 

Orion still couldn’t force the grin from his face as they moved toward their favorite italian restaurant in the city, “Fine, we may have done a bad thing to your brother.”

“He had it coming,” The salt and pepper haired fae said confidently, “But what did you do?”

By the time they finished their story, Aberforth was being held up by his mate, after Percival shared the image of his big brother’s face using legilimency. He couldn’t breathe because, unlike Percy, he knew exactly what his genius of a brother had been thinking. Fleamont was Percy and Grindelwald’s only child; that made James his heir. The thought of them calling the legendary and notorious Liberator’s heir Jimmy would have just bugged the absolute hell out of the barely red haired wizard and that made his gut want to explode from the induced hysteria.

The trio enjoyed dinner, sharing the rest of their day’s experiences, both at the conference and the bar. The two government officials talked about the endless meetings they’d endured and Abby shared the letters that Sirius and Reggie had sent home that day. Then they left for their upscale apartment building, where Orion kept a place in the city for nights like tonight, when they were in the states; the couple’s place just a floor below their best friend’s. 

“Can’t you just move back?” Abby demanded, “Gods, it’s been decades.”

Not wanting his mate caught off guard or surprised if Percy was short, Orion sent a warning of their earlier conversation across their mating bond. He wasn’t surprised when that did nothing to dissuade his goat of a fae mate. Kendra Dumbledore might have called him the auguery of their family, but that was too good for what a determined, stubborn, irritating ass his lover could be.

“What for?” Percy asked, “Flea and Euphemia have the kids in hand with you two and, as today demonstrated, your brother wants nothing to do with me.”

“Look, Perce, I’m never going to be a Grindelwald fanboy, everyone knows this,” the fae started, “But he’s your husband. You two are going to have to talk eventually.”

“And say what?” The vampire demanded, “I’ve never agreed with his politics and I’m not going to!”

“You think I’m asking you to? Me?” Abby set him a look, raising his eyebrows, “But, I don’t think he even agrees with what he did anymore. He’s stayed there because he doesn’t feel like you want him now and everyone can see how miserable you are without him. Just admit that you’re still crazy about the son of a bitch and get him moved to house arrest here.”

“I thought the point of this was to get me back in Europe,” The Director pointed out with a sad smile, trying to distract the dark fae with his sarcasm.

Aberforth snorted, “I would love nothing more than for you to come back. Commute to work if you don’t want to let Tina take over. Flea would be ecstatic! James would explode into confetti. Gods know that boy worships the ground you walk on. More than anything though, I just want you to not be miserable anymore…” 

The empath fiddled with the Dumbledore heir ring on his middle finger, “Percy, I know why you left. I agree with you, he had to stop; more than anyone, I wanted him stopped. But, he  _ did  _ stop. He gave the wand up to Albus,” The wizard sighed, “Listen, I can’t imagine how you felt in that elevator today. And, I’m certainly not asking you to share with the class, I’m just saying think about it. You’re doing to him what Albus did to you today and that’s not right either… From what I gather even those two idiots exchange letters.”

“They do,” Percy confirmed quietly, “My magic’s linked to anything that goes in or out of Nurmengard.”

The siren of the trio was angry on his friend’s behalf. Everyone wanted to never let Percy forget who he married, well before Grindelwald ever rose to power, and held the vampire’s career hostage just like the Dark Lord had his spouse. Yet when the blasted public wanted the man contained they were more than happy to put that on the Director of Security for Macusa, who didn’t even live or work on the same continent. Orion glared at his husband, not liking the hurt that flashed across their best friend’s face.

Aberforth still pushed forward, “Do that then, if you’re not ready to see him… Just… Please don’t be miserable, especially when I know being with him is what you want. You left, you made your point, he stopped. There’s nothing wrong in getting back with him now.”

By that point they had arrived in the building and were outside the Black family’s apartment. The vampire Director stared up at the ceiling, “Maybe you’ve got a point. I still don’t know what to say to him, though.”

Orion snorted where he was unlocking the door, “There’s always Tina’s suggestion.”

“Ugh,” Percy rolled his eyes, “That woman’s a menace. Good night, assholes.”

He trudged up the stairs, his last words quiet, little more than a whisper, fond but distracted, as the Graves Lord was lost in his own head.

The two disappeared into their apartment after issuing farewells and Abby looked at his mate, “What did Tina suggest?” The siren just shared it through their mating bond, but the younger Dumbledore brother could feel his mate’s irritation with him. He huffed, “Someone had to say it.”

“Maybe the day your brother pulled his little schtick wasn’t the right time. You didn’t see Percy’s face when he just put his back to him like that,” Orion pointed out.

“It’s been ridiculous since James was born,” he hissed at his husband, “Percy has wanted the blonde terror back for over a decade. If I’m the last one in this family willing to kick you idiots in the arse when you need it, so be it! But I will not apologize for that!” He spun and took off for the bedroom. 

Still irritated Orion called out, “Yeah, well maybe you should start with your brother, before you come for the rest of us!!!”

The door slammed and he was never more tempted to go sleep in Graves’ spare bedroom. Instead, because he did not want to have to explain the contents of their argument, he pulled off his tie and shirt. That left him in only his white sleeveless undershirt as Orion got a drink before collapsing into his recliner. He had one arm thrown across his eyes, the other holding his drink, feet propped up, when he felt the warding magic on the apartment alert him to a fire call.

The siren was just praying that it wasn’t the Ministry as he let the call come through, in no mood to have to floo across the damn Atlantic this late. He didn’t even bother to move his arm, if anyone didn’t like that he was relaxing at home, they could simply kiss his…

“Well, don’t you look like a prize.”

He recognized the voice and quickly sat up to greet his tattoo artist, Rhys Inkler. Orion couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face, “What are you doing calling me so late, old man? How’s the baby?”

“I’m not the one turning fifty, you old bugger! And she’s still not sleeping through the night; not sure I’m gonna make it, Ori,” Rhys disclosed, unabashedly observing the Black family and Slytherin crests that adorned each of the siren’s upper arms, making sure they were still in perfect condition. They were.

“I remember those days,” He shook his head.

“Well, speaking of kids, that’s kind of why I’m calling you,” Rhys told him. When all he got in response was a confused expression the man moved to continue quickly, “Your son just walked into Tattoo Artist here in Diagon Alley; trying to bribe me for a job. He’s got three other boys with him.”

“Ahh shit!” Orion complained throwing his arm back over his face, “Damn it all and I can’t even be surprised; his uncle is out of the country.”

The artist laughed, “Well, I told them I was going to make sure the gold they paid me was authentic. I didn’t want to tip them off that I knew you; I figured they’d just leave and get some hack job to do it.”

“You are not wrong,” Orion said, listening to the shower running in the bedroom for a few seconds, “Go ahead a do it, Rhys.”

“What!? Are you sure?” 

“You don’t know them, but they will get it done one way or another. By a hack job or themselves,” Orion nodded, sure of his decision, “Go ahead. They’re all mine, you have my permission.”

“Alright man, as long as you consent,” He nodded, “They want a…”

“A lion, upper arm, where my crests are. Roaring, golden fur and red maned.”

He stared at the man for a moment, “Okay… Maybe they wanted a lion for a while, but that’s too damn specific. Have you seen the drawing they brought me?”

“No, the picture is a copy of their uncle’s. They’re getting one just like his.”

The man snorted, “Fine, then. You coming to pick them up?”

“Nah, if they can get out then they can get back in. They always manage,” Orion told him, “Do me a favor and let them think they got away with it, huh? No reason to get in trouble with the mate.”

“Fair enough! Wouldn’t want Aberforth after my ass either,” Rhys admitted then cut the firecall off. 

Orion knew that he had until Albus got back to Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall was undoubtedly waiting on the boys and once the irritating redhead got back, she’d tell him what they got up to. The older fae would never risk not telling his brother what the boys did; then Abby would have a right fit. At least, if the boys kept their mouths shut about the where, it wouldn’t be his ass getting chewed out.

Sitting and having a couple more drinks, the Black Lord thought about going upstairs and seeing Percy. He didn’t know if that would make things better or worse though. After debating for a few minutes, as the shower was still running, Orion decided to risk it.

Getting a refill he moved upstairs, barefoot, to his best friend’s apartment. The warding magic automatically unlocked the door recognizing him and Orion slipped inside, worried Percy might have gone to bed after the taxing day. Instead, he found the Graves Lord sitting at the desk in his living room, crumpled balls of paper thrown all over the floor having been cast away, while Percy scribbled on his eagle stationary. After a few moments the vampire also tossed aside the one he was working on. 

The younger lord did not have to ask what he was writing, “Struggling?”

“Why the fuck is this so hard, Ori?” Percival demanded, sitting back harshly, index finger going over his lip as it always did when he was frustrated, “I mean, Abby’s not wrong. I am married to the son of a bitch! This shouldn’t be a Herculean task!” 

He sat on the sofa, legs extended before him, facing the Director, “What do you want to say to him?”

“What?”

Genuine confusion, it was worse than Orion feared, “You know, how you have a conversation with anyone. You say what you want to say. What do you want to say to him?”

Percy stared at him for several minutes, just thinking about the question. He hadn’t talked to Gellert in so long and, before he’d brought Flea with him to the states, they’d had it out. There really was nothing left to say about what had happened then. Gellert had already begged him for forgiveness, given up all his political intentions, and even asked him not to leave. Percy had anyway, needing to be sure that the seer was really going to stop. 

There was just the here and now, but he wasn’t sure what that looked like for them anymore. He was in the states, Flea was grown and finally had a son. James was between them and went to Nurmengard with his parents often but there was only so much they would be able to talk about in terms of his quidditch success.

Seeing the haplessness on his friend’s face, Orion sighed, “Maybe ask if he wants you to open the bond back up?”

That seemed to make the vampire startle. After he realized what his siren friend meant, the Director shook his head, “I never muted our bond.”

“You didn’t?”

“Of course not, I’m not your brother in law,” Percy told him tersely, “I left to prove a point, but I wasn’t going to let some mob show up on his doorstep and kill him either. If he ever needed me, I’d be there.”

“Of course you aren’t! I’m sorry, Perce, I didn’t mean…”

“No, no, it’s not you,” He moved to apologize, head cradled in his hands, “I’m sorry, this is harder than I thought it would be and I hate it.”

Orion waved him off, “Look, I know that he writes to Albus and he’s expressed how much he wants you back. He doesn’t seem to know that you’d be there if he needed you; maybe you should just tell him that. It’s a start.”

Seeing the sour look that crossed Percy’s features, he raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“Nothing.”

The Black Lord thought back over what he just said and then chuckled, “Percy, they aren’t together. It’s just letters.”

The vampire was grateful that he couldn’t blush because he probably would have looked like the Ilvermorny banners at that moment, “Are you sure?”

“Positive!” Orion assured him, “Gellert isn’t going to be with anyone without your approval, especially Albus. He knows the two of you still haven’t spoken and you’re his husband. I swear on that, Perce. Albus is just one of the only people who write to him, along with Flea and Jamie, and Lady Bagshot.”

“Okay,” the Graves accepted, staring at the blank stationary in front of him.

Orion spent the next several hours as an impartial sounding board as the other wizard painfully forged through a letter to his mate and husband. Thinking about the man downstairs, although they couldn’t get legally married because of Walburga, and the threat to Orion’s own magic if he broke the marriage contract, he felt himself melt toward his husband. Fiddling with the ring on his finger, symbolic though it may be, he still thought Abby should have given the vampire a day after what happened in the elevator. Then again, there was also the reality that they were going back to Europe at first light for work. 

Aberforth Dumbledore also was not a ‘beat around the bush’ sort of individual; there was a reason he called him a goat… Maybe that was what he should get the fae for christmas, a little billy goat. If the little terror butted his mate in the arse a few times, maybe he’d slow down in the way he did it to other people. Probably not, but it was worth a shot.

When the blasted letter was finally as complete as Percival was going to get it, Orion felt the wards flare down stairs, as the man was sending it off, “Ahh Hel and Hekate.”

“What?” Percy asked, letting his owl, Carni, a Great Horned Owl, fly out the window.

Orion rolled his eyes, “Okay, between us, the boys snuck out to get a tattoo. I’m guessing Albus went back tonight and had to come right back when he found out.”

“Does Abby know that you know?”

“Hel is great and I’m not an idiot; absolutely not.”

“Touche,” Percy said as his friend headed for the door, “Good luck with that.”

“Let’s meet at seven for breakfast before we head back,” Orion said, already halfway out the door. He closed the door and turned, finding Aberforth at the top of the landing, undoubtedly coming to get him, as he was sure the older fae asked to speak to both of them, “What now?”

He was confused when Aberforth flinched, then he realized that the other wizard thought he was still pissed from their fight. Not wanting to keep fighting he quickly corrected him, “I felt Albus come in, I meant him.”

“Oh,” There was relief in the other’s voice. Obviously Abby didn’t want to fight anymore either, “I don’t know yet… I should probably talk to Percy.”

“He’s going to bed,” Orion told him. He saw hurt flash across the other’s face and, again, it occurred that he’d misstepped. Abby thought Percival had asked not to see him. Apparently he was off his game tonight and he needed to fix that before he got his own ass sold out about the tattoo, “Not that! He’s meeting us for breakfast. We just sent off his letter to Grindelwald.”

All he got was a pair of wide eyes, “Oh.”

He chuckled, “Come on, let’s go see what Sirius has done this time.”

Abby smiled at him, “One of these days it’s going to be Reggie and he’s never going to let you live it down.”

“I hope you’re right,” Orion told him, “But, so far, a warm day in Helheim still seems more likely.”

“Percy would say…”

“Hell is scorching, yes, I’m well aware,” Orion beat him to the punchline.

“He’s only been in school for three weeks,” Aberforth complained, grabbing his mate’s hand now that he realized the man wasn’t still angry at him, “What could he possibly be doing?”

“It’s three more weeks than we got last year,” Orion reminded him. Albus had been on their doorstep just after the feast ended the boys’ third year; some welcoming prank that wound up with all the teachers, and the headmaster, doing an elaborate dance and resulted in the first day of classes being cancelled. Although Orion had sent the self proclaimed marauders one incensed howlder, Aberforth hadn’t been able to breathe at the thought of his son doing that to his uncle and the man’s staff.

They entered the apartment and Orion quickly spotted the headmaster and his phoenix companion. He could only assume that was a faster means of travel than floo after a long day. 

Albus was sitting on the sofa awaiting them. The fae looked up and blushed but still greeted the siren, “Orion.”

“Oh, so you do remember my name,” His brother in law didn’t miss a beat, “I was beginning to wonder.”

Aberforth snickered, always delighted when anyone gave his brother a hard time. Especially when the genius had it coming. “I love you so much,” He reminded his husband.

“I’m so sorry,” Albus said, embarrassment obvious, “I… panicked. I just… I didn’t know what to say.”

“Lesson of the night seems to be that anything is better than silence,” Orion reclaimed his chair, pulling Abby down into his lap, “So, what did he do? Paint the Great Hall in hippogriff feathers? Declare his love for the werewolf in grandeur during Transfiguration? Put cretin gnomes in old Sluggy’s office?”

Aberforth tried to hide his huffing laughter by hiding his face in Orion’s neck. Sirius did have an unbelievable amount of sexual tension with his sandy blonde friend and his mate had long predicted that the two would end up together. While the fae wasn’t so sure, as he could feel both’s strictly platonic emotions for one another, he was sure that they would be lifelong friends. He wouldn’t be surprised if their mates wound up sharing many traits with the marauder they weren’t mated to.

Albus smiled. For all everyone complained about his twinkling eyes, his brother lit up like nothing he’d ever seen whenever the younger siren was around and no one complained when the dark Dumbledore twinkled. Still, he was happy for his brother. He knew the fae had stopped aging, worried about Orion’s youth when they first met, but he was hoping with the man turning fifty that they’d feel more on par with one another finally, “Nothing quite so impactful this time; although I’ve heard cretin gnomes are all the rage recently. They were caught sneaking out.”

“Oh, okay…” Aberforth was genuinely surprised. It wasn’t that sneaking out wasn’t bad, it was. The boys just got caught doing it so often, that it was usually just a firecall, not a home visit from his brother.

“I know, not when I normally turn up,” Albus acknowledged, knowing he was never going to hear the end of this, “It’s what they were doing while they were gone that I thought you’d want to know about.”

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense,” Abby instructed.

“They went and got a tattoo.”

Aberforth groaned, “Oh Hel, I can only imagine what they go too! Who the fuck gives fourteen year olds a tattoo? Would Rhys?”

“Tattoo Artist doesn’t do minors without parental consent,” Orion told him without a moment’s hesitation.

“Of course they fucking don’t! What hack job would? What is wrong with people? Bloody absolute hell, those stubborn idiots! I am going to kick their…”

Both men just let him storm off into the office, undoubtedly going for a howler, to let his son have a piece of Abby’s mind. Orion waited until he could hear the man screaming into one of the red envelopes before turning back to his brother in law, “Did they get it?”

“A lion? Indeed. As a matter of fact, they mentioned where they got it too.”

“Bloody hell,” Orion cursed, now he was in trouble too.

Albus chuckled, “That was a very… persuasive statement, but Rhys would never have done that unless you knew.”

“Yeah, I knew,” Orion admitted, “We’d just had a row over the lift incident when he popped in and they were going to do it anyway so…”

The fae flinched at the mention of their earlier altercation, even as the siren waved off his ending. Knowing he hadn’t handled that well, the oldest Dumbledore felt absolutely terrible. He had never known what to say to Percival Graves; he’d muted both of his mating bonds so very long ago. He didn’t know what to do or how to talk to the man; it’s not like you can just apologize for decades of elected isolation and expect the hurt it caused to go away. 

Gellert said that the vampire still hadn’t reached out to him either. And Albus in no way wanted to get between the two husbands… Alright, that was a bad way to even think about that… But still, he wasn’t trying to make things more complicated between the pair. So, he wrote to his friend and heard about his heartache, but continued to avoid his other mate, even as he kept in contact with Flea and aided in raising the family’s youngest like James was another nephew.

Aberforth stomped back into the room, red envelope securely in one hand, an owl in the other, “Anything else I need to add before I send this?”

“No, that’s it.”

Orion was surprised that his brother in law seemed to have zero interest in selling him out to his mate. He accepted the scarlet fae’s attempt at an apology, knowing the smoke would have to long clear between his friend and Grindelwald, before any of them would be crazy enough to try and put Percy and Albus in the same space again. So, once the howler was sent off to arrive with Hogwarts’ morning post, the headmaster left quickly to go back and get some sleep.

The next morning Sirius and his friends endured the howler with pride, everyone in the Great Hall quickly becoming aware of exactly what they’d done and what their new brands were. Albus spotted his youngest nephew, along with Cissy, about to fall out of their seats, hysterical, while Severus didn’t bother suppressing a chroused eye roll with Lily Evans. 

Apparently Abby had come to be pissed at him once he’d left, because Albus got a howler as well. He and Minerva quickly dismissed everyone to their morning classes as the cat calls started toward the troublemakers, before Sirius could actually start a strip tease at breakfast. They both knew he would.

There was some surprise when, the next day, two more howlers arrived in the same vein as the first. Then it happened again the next day, and the next, and the next. By the second week of howlers coming every day, even Minnie was giving Albus sideways looks, that plainly cited where she thought Sirius got his dramatic tendencies. The older fae agreed with her silently; that Abby ever worried Sirius wouldn’t be his son was a damn joke! 

Still, everyone got used to the new normal of Sirius Black’s dad bitching about him getting a tattoo at fourteen. It actually became a standard warning for if students forgot something, their last chance to run back to the dorms before they’d be late. Almost a month after the howlers started, Albus shared a relieved look with his nephew when the first morning arrived with only a regular letter at breakfast.

The other boys looked almost disappointed, having enjoyed the creative lengths that Sirius’ dad went to as he came up with new ways to yell at his son for the same thing everyday, but James still leaned in to read over his friends’ shoulder. The quartet of marauders were sitting at the Gryffindor table’s end, right below the instructors. From the black wax of the seal, rather than red, Albus was guessing Orion finally had enough of his husband’s antics.

Still, despite many’s apparent disappointment, and all the money that was exchanging hands, soon it was time for all the kids to get moving. As the boys took off, he believed for Horace’s first class of the day with Slytherin, the headmaster heard them talking.

Sirius was grinning bright like the sun, “Gotta love it when the old man puts his foot down in the right direction!”

James smiled at him as he moved around the table, bag slung over his shoulder, “And that would be any direction other than yours?”

“You’re damn straight!” Sirius said as they high fived, “Whoop!” 

The sandy blonde next to the Black heir crossed his arms and mocked him, “I thought your father was person non grata and you didn’t like him?”

“Only every other week,” Sirius corrected the sarcastic werewolf, “Once you enter the shedevil’s domain, he becomes an enemy of the state and should be treated as such!”

“As someone with an enemy of the state as a relative,” James put in, “That is offensive; your mother is worse.”

“Who are you telling?” Sirius asked, before snatching another donut and running off with James’ glasses, where the Potter heir had been finishing homework at breakfast.

“Asshole, come back here!” James took off after his best friend.

Remus Lupin rolled his eyes at their antics, but ran after them for the door, “You’re both idiots!”

“Guys wait up,” Albus chuckled as Peter Pettigrew sprinted after his taller friends. 

He shared a grin with Minerva at the boys’ commentary before she took off for classes and he waited for the hall to clear out. He spotted Lily Evans meet up with Severus Snape and Narcissa Black at the door to leave for class; little Reggie looked to trail after them until they reached the stairs. He hoped that his nephew was alright, he hadn’t wanted to check in a third time and crowd the eleven year old; siblings being in different houses always struggled, especially during their first year.

Still, he hadn’t really been surprised by the choice. Sirius took after Orion in appearance and charm, but modeled himself after Aberforth’s brashness. Reggie was the opposite, although maybe not with appearance. His little nephew shared the Dumbledore brothers’ joint hallow in his longing to shield others, while his model for dealing with their crazy family was his father through and through, subtlety and cunning to the end.

Once everyone had cleared out of the hall, he moved back to his office to write several correspondences, but as the fae entered, Fawkes was just coming in with a letter from Nurmengard. Albus struggled to bat down the surge of excitement that came with the raven seal, reminding himself that they were nothing more than best friends, against every insistence of the long muted bonds that he hadn’t acknowledged in all but seventy five years. And given who Gellert was married to…

God, what in the hell was wrong with him? Because when he’d first gotten a letter from G after the lift, he’d been sure what it was about, and it wasn’t follow up on their discussion of how to remove that damned curse from his Defense position. Albus had been sure the Dark Lord was going to throttle him through the missive; actually if Gellert wasn’t in prison he’d assumed it would have been a howler. His first thought, almost a month ago, had been that the blonde siren was going to be having Flea bring him some of those after that mess.

Then it hit him that he hadn’t even considered how Fleamont Potter would react to their encounter; let the howlers floweth forth. Despite the fact that he had raised Flea like his own once Gellert and his husband sent him to Hogwarts, the next generation had never ceased being protective of his carrier. Between knowing about the vampire Director’s struggle to the position during his bachelor years, the discrimination he still faced, and that brief stint as a prisoner of his husband, Albus couldn’t blame Flea. 

Not to mention the headmaster acknowledged how very badly he’d messed up that scenario. He’d even ignored Orion! Bloody hell, what was wrong with him?

Why couldn’t he just speak and let the other man set the damn pace? Every single time he was in the same room as Percival Graves he swore to breaking the wheel; that he was going to say something to him. It always seemed like his next thought was as the vampire was walking away. 

Gellert’s husband was the strongest magical presence he’d ever encountered, other than, maybe, the Liberator himself. The wizard ran the States like he was the one true king reborn, making every President’s term nominal at best, all because the people begged him not to leave. To top it all off Graves was still forty something and looked gorgeous in his suits, with his hair always slicked back perfect and…

And, as Albus pinched the bridge of his nose, he reminded himself that it didn’t matter, because he wanted nothing to do with his mates romantically. He’d fucked up his family’s lives enough, managed to let his and Gellert’s tale get so twisted already, and there was no way that he was dragging Director Graves into his messes. The man already had a hard enough time with his career and the history of one mate. That’s why he was never going to deage, he’d decided; one lifetime was more than enough.

Opening that first letter, he was confused, then just surprised, when he discovered that the vampire hadn’t seemed to mention their encounter to Gellert at all. He had been telling the blonde idiot for years to just write to the man; his siren best friend confessed years ago that Graves never muted their bond. Gellert thinking that the Director didn’t want him anymore had been ridiculous since James was born, quite frankly. If the vampire wanted to move on from his mates, it was not like he didn’t have options and yet he never dated anyone else.

Reading through the letter, he’d smiled at the overall exuberance that Gellert exuded at his husband re-establishing contact with him. Although that same smile turned slightly devious when he recognized the panic in the siren when his friend pondered what to write back. He hadn’t dared to give feedback on that, but it warmed part of Albus to know that someone could still fluster Gellert Grindelwald. 

But, if the vampire was going to write Gellert anyway, why hadn’t Graves told him what happened? Albus knew that both his and the Director’s magics were linked to Nurmengard’s security, so the man clearly was aware of their communication. He probably didn’t think that Albus cared enough to even bring it up, so he didn’t either. 

The vampire wouldn’t have cause to think anything else, that was for certain. He’d been muted towards Gellert since their last conversation after the fight with Abby and Arianna’s death. He hadn’t even reopened their bond during the twenty minute conversation they’d had when the siren ceased control of the Elder wand. And Albus had muted his connection to Percy when he finally heard that the vampire met Gellert first, calling it fate, not even a few years after Godric’s Hollow.

Honestly, though, why Graves hadn’t told Gellert about the lift was a mystery and Albus hadn’t dared to bring it up. Instead they continued talking about how to remove that damn curse and discussed how James’ fourth year was going. His friend had been saying for the last two weeks that Albie should tell his brother off for his temper tantrum. G would be ecstatic to know that Orion had done it for him.

As he was scanning the letter, the Griffin statue alerted him to an incoming student. With the briefest of glances, Albus spotted a flash of blood red hair and chuckled, “It’s only three weeks in and you’re bored already?”

Lily Evans was too advanced for her own good and tended to bounce between himself, Minnie, and Horace for entertainment. Actually, he was genuinely surprised the girl was here since she was supposed to be in potions at the moment. It wasn’t one of her subjects that typically couldn’t hold the girl’s interest.

It wasn’t until a sob reached his ears that Albus abandoned the letter and, startled, gave the fourteen year old his full attention. Fawkes was already on her shoulder, trying to help, as tears poured from the little crimson haired girl’s eyes. Her shoulders were shaking and there was a piece of parchment clutched in her hands.

Standing he rushed over to her, leaning down to wipe the tears away, “Lily, what in the world happened, sweetheart?”

Her hand shook as she extended the parchment to him.

Taking it, Albus’ breath caught.

_ Heritage Potion - September 21, 1974 _

_ Brewer: Lily Jasmine Evans Dumbledore Black _

_ Status: Witch, Pureblood _

_ Father(s): Albus Dumbledore _

_ Carrier: Orion Dumbledore _


	2. Prologue: Marauding Peverell's

_August 1995_

Narcissa knew that she had done the right thing for her family. When Draco confessed that Harry Potter was his destined siren mate, two things had become glaringly obvious. First, Lucius Malfoy was not Draco’s father; a half siren would not be capable of having a mate. His father would have to be the only other man she had ever been with, the second strongest male siren of their generation, and her own mate, Sirius Black. The second issue was that her family needed to publicly switch sides in the war and therefore would require much protection after the declaration.

She’d left Lucius behind in the dead of night without a second thought with both of her children in tow, after sending her public declaration of divorce and loyalty to her maiden family, which she argued was led by an innocent Sirius, to every wizarding newspaper in Europe. Despite Draco having the Rosier hair as she did, Narcissa was sure that Sirius would never attempt to deny the boy. They had once hoped that she would get pregnant in order to annul her arranged marriage contract to Lucius before it could officially occur. 

Unfortunately Sirius being arrested had thrown out all of their plans, as many of the Black Family secrets had been buried with Lily and James, and the corrupt ministry’s forced concealment of their wills. In order to provide for her son, Narcissa had stopped herself from hoping or confirming that Sirius was Draco’s biological father, but now there could be no denying it. After fifteen years the boy coming into his creature inheritance would reveal everything.

Fifteen years of marriage and Lucius’ legal rights to her body had produced a two year old girl. Regardless of Capricornia’s biological parentage, Narcissa could only pray that Sirius would love the child for being hers as much as she did, and that he would keep her under his protection as one of his own. If not, the little girl would almost certainly fall back into Lucius’ hands under the wizarding law of Britain, and Narcissa was not sure that she could bare the thought of that happening to her little girl.

It was not difficult to find Sirius. Although the Black Family owned many properties, all of them were warded to keep out intruders, each welcomed any Black Family member seeking protection. That was an ancient charm that no curse would ever be able to break. It was surprising to find him in the place that he had grown up. 

Walburga had kept a strong hold on this house and Sirius had always hated his mother. She had expected to find him in one of the many homes that Orion had kept apart from his wife and purchased especially for his own mate, Aberforth Dumbledore, to whom Sirius had always been particularly close. Narcissa had been sure that Aberforth, who had never ceased pleading for Sirius’ innocence, even at the tension that it created between himself and his older brother, would know exactly where Sirius was at any moment in time. 

But, the younger Dumbledore brother had also always taught Sirius to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. So, perhaps it should have been more obvious that the two men were allowing Albus Dumbledore to house his “Order of the Phoenix” in Sirius’ ancestral home… Even if she wasn’t sure which side, enemy or friend, the Headmaster fell on at the moment.

It had taken her several days, in no rush seeing as she was being allowed to move safely through the Black Family homes, all of which were stocked with house-elves, and this encouraged her to keep looking at a rate that did not alarm the children. Draco understood what was happening but Capricornia did not, at least not to the full extent of her brother. The boy was anxious, of course he was.

Despite his usual dramatics, her son was tight lipped after they left Malfoy Manor. He seemed unsure how to react to the news that the man who had raised him, but who he had always largely hated and resented, was not, in fact, his father. It was an identity shift which she was sure would take time to adjust to, particularly knowing that they were looking for his biological father, and the fact that he knew virtually nothing about the man in question. 

Narcissa was sure that, by day five of their search, her desertion of the Malfoy family and everything that her ex-husband stood for was known to everyone in the wizarding world. She admitted to a nervous curiosity about how Sirius had taken the news, wherever he was, fully aware that years in Azkaban had changed him, and possibly changed how he felt concerning her; mating was not a guarantee of anything. Look at what Albus Dumbledore had managed, avoiding his mates for a century. 

But, regardless if he had any interest in her moving forward, she knew that he would not desert Draco as his son. Even if he had some sort of qualm about having a traditional relationship with the boy due to her allowing him to be raised with Lucius as a father, their son would be safe with his own mate. Sirius had always worshipped the ground his young godson had walked on; no force in heaven or hell could possibly change that. 

Harry, having been born to Sirius’ best friend and cousin, James Potter, was already going to be special to the man. Then James, Severus, and Lily, Sirius’ own half-sister, who was stolen from Orion and the Dumbledores at birth, had been revealed as mates at fifteen. it made the Potter heir somewhat of a prodigal son.

When she finally decided to check Grimmauld Place, Narcissa was honestly surprised to step out of the floo into a place which was bustling with activity. It made her previous nervousness rise into her throat, unsure how to draw attention to herself in the most diplomatic way possible. She shouldn’t have let herself get so caught up in her thoughts.

It turned out not to be an issue, as Molly Weasley spotted her before she could make a decision, and luckily the other woman did not appear to take Lucius and Arthur’s rivalry as a reflection on their relationship, “Thank goodness, we were beginning to worry, when we hadn’t seen you after three days of the publication coming out. The boys were about to send search parties.”

It was shocking to be pulled into a warm embrace. Narcissa had forgotten what this felt like after fifteen years, with only her children to offer such comfort to. She returned the affection, settling into the moment of kindness, before noting movement from the table behind Molly.

Remus Lupin quickly left his place beside Narcissa’s own niece, heading out with a quick, “I’ll go and get Sirius.”

Nymphadora, who she had not seen since a chance encounter in St. Mungo’s when the girl was four, could be no one else with her bright purple hair. The younger woman smiled from her place at the table, where she was holding a small toddler, who appeared to be near Capricornia’s age. She looked over at Narcissa’s daughter, before returning her attention to her own child, “Teddy, that is your cousin, Capricornia. Why don’t you two play while the adults get settled in?”

The child, Teddy, nodded enthusiastically, his own blue mop shaking on his head, making a grab for the numerous toys on the table. The load was possibly more than he could actually carry, “Okay, Mummy.”

Nymphadora laughed as he hopped down, struggling with his burden, but still trying to reach for the last stuffed dragon toy on the table. She smiled and added the toy to the load, helping him maneuver toward the fireplace. 

Teddy smiled brightly at the little blonde girl, who was hiding behind her mother’s leg, “Hi, I’m Teddy! Would you like to play? I have a great dragon, her name is Norberta. She’s from my god-brotha Harry, you can play with her if you’d like?”

Capricornia, surprised by the experience of so many strange adults bustling around after days with only her mother and brother, seemed hesitant but slowly reached out to take the dragon, “Norberta?”

The boy nodded, “I don’t know why he picked that name. But it makes Uncle Hagrid laugh whenever he sees her.”

The two quickly disappeared up the stairs to a small landing, Teddy exclaiming that he knew all of the best places to play, and letting Capricornia explore the other toys in his bundle. Narcissa watched closely, trying to batten down the instinct to keep the girl within arms reach.

Nymphadora smiled at her again, “I’ll go and get mom. She’ll want to know that you’re here safe.”

Draco was stuck close to her side, taking in the new environment. He side eyed Alastor Moody sitting at the table. Logically they both knew that this was not actually the man who turned Draco into a ferret, but acknowledging his discomfort seemed like it would only add more fuel to an already uncomfortable situation. 

Molly Weaesley seemed somehow immune to the discomfort both were feeling, or she was hell bent to help them move past it. Either way Narcissa was grateful, as the woman moved them toward the kitchen, claiming that they needed to eat something. 

Her son seemed perfectly content to follow the redheaded matriarch. Narcissa wanted to assume he was more familiar with the Weasleys given four years at Hogwarts with her brood. At the same time, she’d always thought her son bitter rivals with the family… His ease with the woman was a little odd, but Draco had been through enough in the past few days that she dismissed it.

An auror she knew to be Kingsley Shacklebolt, silently passed her copies of the prophet, which had her declaration splashed across the headlines, “The fallout hasn’t been as bad as you might think. I do believe that, once Harry get here later tonight, attention should turn to the ‘boy-who-lived’ being missing and with an impending court date.”

“Court date?” She was surprised by the news, unable to imagine what Harry Potter would have done to wind up in a ministry hearing.

“Accidental use of underage magic,” Came Sirius’ voice from behind her, “At least that is all they can prove.”

She was almost in too much shock to even turn around, but forced herself to do so anyway. Narcissa was not surprised to see that Remus was right beside him.

“You and I both know that there is more to it than that. They’re up to something.”

“Remus, they’re fifteen year old boys. They are always up to something.”

“I think you know more than you’re letting on!”

“And I think that you give them entirely too little credit, if you’re suggesting that they would tell me anything. Especially if they are up to something.”

They descended into rigorous banter over the entire thing, giving Narcissa a chance to study Sirius, as he and his friend moved to sit across from her and Draco. The man was bulkier than the last time she’d seen him. Narcissa found herself wondering if that was a result of being stuck in one place in Azkaban, or from being on the run before he came here. It wasn’t something that she looked forward to discovering, but it wasn’t something they could avoid either. 

He and Remus bickered as if nothing had changed between to two of them, perhaps nothing had. The only difference being that James was not present and contributing to the argument. Her heart was racing in her chest and breathing seemed almost beyond her physical abilities, but she listened intently to the two argue about “the boys” and what the outcome of the night would be.

Apparently there was a plan to retrieve Harry from wherever Albus Dumbledore had placed him when James and Lily died. Sirius’ uncle had lost the backing of the order, which he founded, when the placement had been revealed, and was currently trying to return to the good graces of his previous followers. She could not imagine what sort of horrible place the boy had been stuck in, especially considering the many living relatives he still had around, as most purebloods did. 

The tick in Sirius’ neck every time Remus made reference to it, told her that it was not something just anyone should be bringing up in front of the man right now.

One thing which did not shock her was Severus walking in, completely as unsurprised to see her as she was him. 

The potions master nodded at his friend and godson, before turning his attention to the two bickering men with an eye roll, “Would the two of you please stop? Alastor and Remus are going to be there. It’s not as if they’ll be able to get away with anything should they try.”

Sirius rolled his eyes, “Says the man who was unaware that his own son knew of his existence for over four years.”

Narcissa was baffled, unsure how Harry would know about Severus being a third mate to the married couple. James and Lily kept his status a secret because of his position as a spy. It did not seem like the time to ask either, Sirius was about as on edge as she’d ever seen him. She was not sure if that was because of his godson being retrieved and the risks associated with it, or the presence of herself and Draco… Perhaps it was even both?

“Don’t be cruel, Sirius,” Andromeda’s voice floated through the room, “You’ve outgrown such things.”

Narcissa abandoned her meal in order to embrace her sister. It should have been obvious that Andromeda, the kindest and most loving of her sisters, would welcome her with open arms, but she had still been unsure. Lucius had said vile and hurtful things to her sister every chance he’d gotten, and although she’d been his prisoner for so long, the blonde was afraid that her sister would hold some of those things against her. 

Obviously that was not the case, her sister ending their hug only to turn to Remus, “Your son has found the flame feature from Harry’s gift.”

“Oh dear Merlin,” Remus exclaimed, “Teddy! Do not burn down the house!”

Without missing a beat, Sirius shouted after him, “Don’t listen to him, Teddy!”

“Shut up, Sirius!” The werewolf went flying from the room, yelling at his best friend. Andromeda laughing behind him.

“This place has needed to go for years!” Sirius kept goading the werewolf.

Mad-Eye Moody came into the doorway, nodding to Shacklebolt, “Might as well get going. Boy’s guardians…” A growl from Sirius made him change his choice of words, “Current keepers, are only going to be gone for so long.”

Draco, curious about the proceedings, followed the two aurors out of the kitchen and into the living room. Sirius, Molly, and consequently Narcissa, were quick to follow. Moody was gathering his team. 

Narcissa was somewhat surprised to see that Sirius was not going on the mission, but probably couldn’t because of his fugitive status. With Harry’s court date looming it would look even worse for the boy if he were somehow caught traveling with a convicted criminal. No wonder her mate was so tense.

Remus was talking to his son, as Nymphadora put on her coat, suggesting that they were both going, “Stay with your Uncle Sirius, don’t burn the house down.”

“Don’t squash his creativity, Moony,” Sirius put in, causing the boy to giggle and all but fly into his uncle’s arms.

“You’re worse than the toddler,” Remus said with a grin, “Better yet, just stay near grandma and do the opposite of what your godfather says.”

Andromeda smiled, obviously thrilled with her daughter’s choice in husband.

The sassy tot only stuck his tongue out at his father, clinging tightly to his godfather’s neck. It was clear that the boy thought Sirius had hung the moon. Narcissa could easily see where he’d gotten the idea. 

Capricornia, upset at losing her playmate, pulled at Sirius’ sleeves, wanting to be held with her new friend. The blonde witch held her breath, realizing that Sirius had not actually seen the girl yet, and that he would instantly know who she was by her appearance. She should have warned him when she had the chance.

It did not seem to bother him in the slightest, however, as he instantly bent and lifted the little girl to be with Teddy. Narcissa felt herself slouch slightly in relief that at least he was not resentful of the girl. She was glad for her sister’s strong hand taking hold of hers in encouragement and understanding. 

The team set out quickly, and Molly moved to usher them back into focus on their new comers.

Narcissa noticed Severus flinch slightly and knew that he was being summoned. Sirius noticed him slip out as well, but she didn’t think any of the others were paying attention.

“Come with me, Draco. We’ll get you settled into your room!” Molly offered to the young teen. She was encouraged when he fell into step with her easily.

“I’ll take my sister,” Andromeda informed the room. 

Narcissa noted that she and Sirius shared dark look that she could only call a battle of the wills. Sirius lost when he was left alone holding the small children. She heard him place the two down and Teddy suggest a game of ‘cauldron bubbles’ as her sister ushered her up the stairs. 

Andy was suddenly in a hurry.

There were many rooms in the old house that was still in the process of being returned to a true ‘up and running’ state. She was both saddened and relieved when Andromeda took her to the old room that she and her sisters used to share when they were forced to stay with their Aunt Walburga, rather than being taken directly to Sirius’ bedroom. Perhaps it would have been a bit overwhelming, but she also longed to know exactly where the two of them stood; the not knowing was already beginning to drive her batty.

Narcissa was also desperate to know what the hell happened fourteen years ago from her mate’s perspective. She’d never believed Sirius was capable of betraying James, not even for a second. Still, the details were unknown to her.

Andromeda removed the things that Cissy had taken from the Manor, few though they were, and, after checking them for tracking spells, began to set up the room for her. She didn’t press. Andy was always respectful of others space and did not let her own curiosity get the better of her.

It was not a quality Narcissa shared, although she envied it, “What’s supposed to happen tonight?”

Andromeda shrugged, “Whatever Harry wants. I can’t actually tell who knows the big plan, if there is one… Despite what Remus thinks, Sirius is just the decoy so that they can get away with whatever it is. I don’t think he knows a thing.”

“I didn’t think anyone would be in contact with Harry. Wherever the Headmaster put him… Sirius did not look happy about it.”

Her sister sighed and sat down on the bed beside Cissy, “He did order that no one share information with Harry over the summer. He was afraid of the Order being found out. It was respected until Harry’s fight with Ron at the end of last term was revealed by Neville Longbottom.”

“Frank and Alice’s boy?”

Andy nodded, “He also told Sirius and Remus that Harry was not, in fact, living with me as they had both assumed. Rather, Albus put him with Lily’s adopted muggle sister, Petunia and her family… it changed everything.”

Narcissa gasped. She’d known that Lily’s muggle sister was extremely resentful of the witch. She could think of no excuse for leaving a baby with someone so cruel and clearly the others had found no reason for it either. 

Andromeda sighed, fiddling with her wedding band in the form of a nervous tick, “Sirius doesn’t know the extent of any harm they caused, but he intends to find out. I could use your help evaluating both as a mind healer. Sirius has come far but he’s also always been a natural legilimens. He did much of the pre-work on his own while on the run.”

“He’s doing well, then?”

“He’ll be fine. He sent one letter to Harry, confirming that Harry knew nothing about me, or any of the rest of his still living family from the Black line. Harry also told him, because he wouldn’t lie to Sirius, thank Merlin, that Lily had a very secret letter that no one, not even Dumbledore, knew about sent to Harry if anything should happen to her,” Andy missed Lily Potter so much. The woman had contingency plans for their contingency plans.

The healer sighed, “She was afraid of what would happen if they were killed and wanted Harry to know that Severus was his second father… The way that Severus has treated the boy under Albus’ suggestion that he not reveal their actual relationship status has not helped. Finding out that Harry knew and didn’t tell him because of that treatment has hurt him deeply.”

“What does Uncle Abby say about all this?”

Andromeda huffed out a laugh. Aberforth Dumbledore had been in a right state ever since Sirius was discovered innocent, “He’s ready to kill his brother. To be fair, Albus had no idea Harry knew and feels so terrible. No one is going to move on until we know the damage done.”

Narcissa wanted to feel for Draco’s godfather, sure he was just as upset, but could see the truth written in her sister’s eyes, “Severus has no one to blame but himself this time.”

“James no longer being his scapegoat for his horrible attitude might just be a good thing; make the tosser take some responsibility for his own actions.”

“No one else has spoken to him?”

“Not from the Order members. Despite his fallout with Ron, apparently he’s good friends with Molly and Arthur’s twins. They haven’t followed a rule since they were old enough to understand what they were,” Andy moved off to keep straightening the room, “And I’m sure he’s spoken to Neville; they are apparently the true best friends…”

She huffed when her grandson’s voice floated up the stairs; apparently Sirius had turned into Padfoot, “He also sends constant letters to Teddy, but that kid guards those things like his most prized possessions; he won’t even let his mother read them…”

“And what does the Headmaster say about all of this?”

Narcissa noted the way that her sister stilled at the specific question. They had all worshipped the ground that Albus Dumbledore walked on in their youth. As a mind healer, Cissy was aware of how difficult it was for people when they were reminded that their idos were human too, “Albus has been keeping Harry in complete darkness trying to protect him until he was seventeen. He even had Remus shunning Aberforth until Sirius escaped, that’s how much his attempts had separated everyone.”

Narcissa felt the tears beginning to build and closed her eyes, “This is all such a disaster. Poor Draco doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going at this point.”

Andromeda ran her hand through her baby sister’s hair, “What happened, Narcissa? I can’t imagine you fleeing after fifteen years unless you had to.”

“Draco is Sirius’ son,” She confessed to her sister.

“Of course he is,” Andromeda told her, “You have to know that Sirius would love any child that was yours.”

“No Andromeda,” Narcissa told her, “You don’t understand. Sirius and I… we were trying to get pregnant before he was arrested so that I wouldn’t have to marry Lucius. Draco came into his Siren inheritance this year.”

“Oh dear,” Andromeda was shocked, and a little irked that her cousin had not told her about this. Surely he suspected Narcissa’s reasoning for running so suddenly with her children.

“That’s not all… Harry is Draco’s mate.”

The middle Black sister could only roll her eyes, “Of course he is; nothing in this family can ever be simple… At least Sirius won’t have to worry about choosing favorites for inheritance.”

“Andromeda!”

The brunette studied her sister for a moment, glad to see her smile, but knowing that they had a lot more air to clear before they could rejoin the others. “Narcissa, did he rape you?”

The blonde looked away quickly, “It doesn’t matter.”

“You need to tell Sirius."

“He’s already going to look at her different. I don’t want to make it worse.”

“That little girl is not to blame for what Lucius did to you. But Sirius does not need to cause more harm to your mind or your magic, if you’re not ready to jump back into bed with him. It’s not going to change how much he loves you, Cissy.”

“I just want my family back. We’ve lost enough to that madman.”

Andromeda held her sister for over an hour, letting her cry out fifteen years of isolation and abuse. Sirius would have to know, but he had his own ways of getting information from Narcissa, she’d always been different with him then she was with anyone else. Andromeda had watched for years as her sister refused to be seen as lesser or weaker than anyone she faced; all while becoming flustered and weak kneed around Sirius.

Siren mates shared such things freely; age, race, class, or even relation became irrelevant when any number of people were shown to be mated. Her nephew probably suffered at Lucius’ hands as much as her sister and he deserved a second chance as much as anyone. Andy hoped that Harry would have a better sense of that then James had when it was revealed that Severus was one of his mates. The two had taken too long to reconcile and had almost missed out on getting to have their son altogether; she didn’t want that for her nephew or Harry.

Once Narcissa was all cried out, they set to making the room right. Given Narcissa’s ambition to rejoin Sirius, Andromeda did not think that she’d use the space for very long. But, it would be nice for Cissy to have her own space in case she felt the need to get away. Capri might also like to have the space that had once been her mother and aunts.

They had been working for several hours when both jumped at the thundering sound of the main doors being slammed open. Knowing it signalled the return of Harry’s retrieval party, they both ran for the stairs.

“...Weren’t in the air for an entire minute, then bam! Gone! Disappeared over the horizon; four other blobs flying off with him!” Moody was shouting.

Draco looked pale where he was standing beside Mrs. Weasley and Narcissa quickly crossed the room to grab his hand. For all the pureblood nonsense that had surrounded the Black Family, they were also rejectors of their own siren inheritance, which is why she and Sirius had been kept from one another whenever they were not in school. It was also why she had been forced into an arranged marriage with Lucius. 

Before she and Sirius, that was also how her Uncle Orion had been saddled with Walburga instead of being able to marry Aberforth.

Molly ran upstairs past her, quickly confirming what they already suspected; the twins were gone. Common sense put in that Neville was probably gone from Augusta Longbottom’s family estate as well.

Sirius was now sitting in the old recliner that had once belonged to her Uncle Orion. Beside him was Aberforth and they had clearly been having a nightcap.

“I’m shocked!” The Marauder mocked them, “Who could have possibly predicted that using brooms was a bad idea?”

Aberforth snorted, giving his old friend an exasperated look, completely in agreement with his son. Alastor always thought that people should cooperate with him because he was trying to do the right thing. The auror had yet to accept that sometimes even a rebellious bureaucracy was not enough and only anarchy could bring about a solution. Still, he had no interest in hearing the two fight, particularly in front of the little ones who were playing with Bumblebee, his last goat from Ori, upstairs, “Sirius, do you know where the kids are heading?"

“Not a clue.”

“Then there is no point yelling about it,” Aberforth gave a short glare when Alastor looked to protest, “They’ll turn up. Unless we hear they need help there is no reason to assume the worst. Do they know how to get here?”

“Yes,” Remus admitted, although it looked like he’d rather eat dirt.

It took Narcissa a moment to realize that Albus Dumbledore was indeed present, and much to her shock deaged for the first time, as far as she was aware, but obviously his opinion was no longer needed to close the matter. He seemed to accept this rather graciously. For all the man had done questionable things with bad consequences, Narcissa was sure that it hadn’t been his intention and that he was now living with the consequences, as her mind processed his mid forties appearance .

She looked around further, finding that her daughter had disappeared with Teddy back to the second floor landing. They were spottable only through a gaping hole in the floor. Extending her magic, she blushed when it connected with Sirius’ own, as he already had a barrier in place should one of the children fall. 

He smiled at her when he sensed their magics connect, but quickly moved back to his conversation with Aberforth. She felt him gently open their mating bond for the first time since he closed it before exposing her to Azkaban’s horrors.

Moody moved off into the room and it hit her quite quickly that the matter was settled. The confrontation was completely over. Tears welled in her eyes with the realization that fifteen years with Lucius made her forget how peacefully things should be resolved within a family. 

She could only assume that Molly had noticed her distress when she felt an arm come to her waist and guide her into the kitchen, “Come on, love, tea time.”

Her sister and Nymphadora followed the two of them into the kitchen and soon they were all situated with tea, “Those boys can’t stay out of trouble for two minutes! I should have known they’d be out the door the second Harry was out of there; they’ll not even go back at this point!”

Her face must have shown her confusion because Nymphadora moved to explain, “The twins, Fred and George, are supposed to return to Hogwarts to retry their seventh year. They’ve been working on a business venture with Harry over the summer and don’t want to ‘waste time’ apparently.”

“Oh, if they don’t graduate I’ll just die,” Molly told them, “All the other boys it’s not even a question. Those two can never let anything be easy.”

“Molly, I want to feel for you, but I’m too relieved that it wasn’t just mine,” Andromeda told them, getting a round of laughter.

“Hey!” Dora tried for affronted but it fell flat. Having returned from the failed mission, she had no interest in hearing more of Sirius and Remus’ bitching, “I will not tolerate this assault on my character. Honestly, Molly, those two have always danced to the beat of their own drum. Let them try it, they just might surprise you.”

“I know that they’re good boys! I do. I just worry…” Molly sighed, running a finger over the rim of her cup, “Do you think I could at least bully them into telling Sirius about this ‘business venture’? I’d feel a lot better if he knew what was happening and didn’t think it was going to end in disaster.”

There was no reason except her own stupidity that Narcissa didn’t realize the question was directed at her. Luckily, Andromeda had answered for her most of their lives and didn’t even seem to realize she’d done it, even though Molly was looking directly at Cissy, ”Of course he would, Molly. He might even already know about it; make sure you ask him.”

She was a little relieved that she’d been able to save some sort of face. Not knowing how to answer that question bothered her on a different level then she would have expected. It was heartwarming to know that Molly addressed her as Sirius’ partner; it meant he probably hadn’t been cursing her existence after her letter made the papers. 

But, she used to know everything about Sirius, because they’d grown up together. Now, it felt like he was a stranger to her, even though he seemed completely at ease as he held her daughter and merged with her magic. This couldn’t possibly be the same as before. That fact was such a sharp reality that she’d steeled herself against, it was jarring to see how much was still similar.

They talked for several hours, Molly taking center stage to allow Narcissa a moment to be normal, everyone dutifully ignoring her issues that were much more overwhelming then wayward teenagers. 

Finally, Remus came to collect Tonks so that they could move toward home and put Teddy to bed. Sirius lifted the veil of protection briefly to let them leave, holding it only long enough for the couple to reach their own warded home. They were only gone through the floo a few seconds before Death Eaters burst back into the room with Teddy and quickly grabbed Capricornia. 

Magic was flying like crazy and Narcissa could honestly say that Sirius appeared perfectly capable of taking back the head auror role; the man could still kick ass. She knew that the masked Death Eaters had to be close relatives if they’d managed to get in. She could almost feel her sister’s presence and was terrified.

Remus and Tonks came flying back in and between Tonks and Sirius, the Death Eaters fled without either child. Sirius grabbed her daughter like it was second nature, to comfort the terrified girl. Narcissa barely had time to reach the two before loud howls, shrieks, and roars, what sounded like a second attack, altered them to the street outside.

“And a werewolf ambush outside for the boys; typical,” Sirius bitched heading for the door. 

Narcissa took Capri, clutching her daughter to her chest, while Remus took Teddy so that Tonks could follow Sirius, along with Alastor and Kingsley. Aberforth, Albus, and Arthur all followed after them in a second tier, with Molly, Remus, Narcissa, and Andromeda following them as far as the doorway, able to see out but not daring to cross the threshold. 

The noise summoned a pale Draco to the window nearest the door.

It was, perhaps, a little anticlimactic to look out and see that the occurrence was more of a beatdown, rather than an attack. 

Sirius leaned forward on the railing of Grimmauld Place’s front porch. He watched with a small smirk on his face as five werewolves, one of whom the marauder recognized as Fenrir Greyback, were getting their asses kicked by the culmination of two red foxes, a massive Kodiak bear, and a lion as tall as the bear. The lion was a prehistoric American lion, because there were golden patterns on its dark fur like a jaguar’s and it had a dark, curly mane… That also could have just been something Harry carried with him past the transformation.

James’ chest would have burst had he gotten to see this.

Two of the five werewolves were already unconscious and two more were attempting to carry them away. Seeing his backup about to retreat, Greyback took off like a damn shot, and Harry started to charge after him. Narcissa tensed, terrified for him and Draco, who she looked over to realize was watching. 

Luckily one sharp whistle from Sirius had him halting to glance back at his godfather.

“Don’t even think about it,” The way he said it was so final and so much like her Uncle Orion that even Aberforth glanced at her with a grin. 

Of course the way that Harry and Neville, who had started following his best friend, stared after Greyback for a moment, like they were considering going after him, also looked so much like James and Sirius that even her mate had doubt flash across his face. All the adults were concerned that they wouldn’t listen.

They’d never know for sure what the boys would have done with one more second to make a decision, but luckily a toddler povalting over both Sirius and Tonks from his father’s arms made the decision for them, “KITTY!!!”

Seeing Teddy run toward him forced the lion out of his tense stance and had him trotting back toward the house. Throwing himself around the large cat’s snout, Teddy could barely hold on as Harry lifted him and sent him flying over his head to ride on his back, the boy’s head barely visible as he all but laid within the large mane, probably his attempt at hugging the colossal animal.

”Well, it’s nice to see that someone knew about this,” Remus bitched to Sirius as the teenagers and tot came up on the warded porch.

“Ain't it the truth though,” Sirius growled.

Harry’s ears went back in recognition of their displeasure, but Sirius’ mate could tell that the older men were already fighting to keep their glee off their faces.

Narcissa reluctantly let Capricornia, who was curious, get down so she could investigate. Sirius smiled down at her, as she moved to hide directly behind his legs, clinging to his pants as the animals all came closer. She didn’t understand that they were people that looked like animals.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. That’s my godson, Harry, he’s just using magic to look like a lion. He won’t hurt you,” Sirius explained, extending his hand so that Capri would come out from hiding to interact with the cat.

Harry was only two feet from his godfather and studied the little blonde that he’d heard so much about from Draco. She did as Sirius wanted, but then backed promptly into his legs once again, even standing on his feet, and clinging tightly to the older animagus’ hand.

Obviously used to Teddy, who had no fear of the boys, Harry tilted his head at her, before laying down so she could get a better look at him. Still taller than her, but not nearly as intimidating as his five foot height when standing on all fours, the girl giggled just a little as he chuffed softly at her. Although she kept clinging to Sirius with one hand, with the other Capricornia carefully reached out to touch his nose.

Once realizing that he had no intention of eating her, Teddy reached out to help his new friend ride on the lion. Although Sirius seemed to be a little concerned as the boys had some visible injuries from the fight that needed to be treated, after the kids proved unable to get her onto his back after a few seconds without assistance, he finally lifted her onto his godson. There would be time to yell at the teenagers later.

Molly started ushering everyone inside, Harry hanging close to his godfather’s heels, and both toddlers watched mesmerized as Neville, who probably wouldn’t have fit through the door, and the twins changed back into their human forms. Luckily Neville had the thought to wave and smile at the still nervous little girl, before all four boys rolled their eyes and settled in for the verbal lashing that Alastor still seemed hellbent to give them.

Sirius lifted Capri back up when Harry was ready to shift. He started to reach for the other child, but Teddy obviously knew the drill, still clinging to Harry’s neck through the transformation. All the boys had gashes and bruises but nothing that Andromeda didn’t have sorted with a few potions and only a couple of comments aiding in Moody’s temper tantrum.

“Needless to say, your ass is staying here tonight,” Sirius informed Remus, who snorted as the boys were being treated.

“You couldn’t force me out if you tried,” Remus muttered, and while not magically true, Narcissa knew that Sirius would also never try.

Harry was probably the most impaired and Narcissa could feel the wheels turning in Sirius’ mind. He suspected that the boy had taken on both a regular werewolf and Greyback at the same time, probably trying to get the alpha that had injured Remus as a child. Her mate was even more surprised, with that realization, that his godson and Neville stopped at his command.

It was as Andromeda was healing the young Potter that Hedwig came flying into the home, forcing everyone to acknowledge that it was already time for the morning edition to be released. With Harry indisposed, the owl defected to Aberforth, who took one look at the front page, cursed, and threw the paper to Sirius, “Now we know what they were doing.”

Too curious to contain herself, Narcissa stepped up to read the headline over Sirius’ shoulder, happy that when she touched his arm to alert him to her presence, he tilted the paper more toward her direction. 

The largest headline declared ‘PETER PETTIGREW ALIVE!” The second declared Sirius innocent and Cornelius Fudge on his way out of office. Skimming the article showed that Fudge was dedicating himself to attempting to make reparation for the laws he’d broken by convicting the man without trial. The final headline declared all charges against Harry dropped after Director of Security for Macusa, Percival Graves, had claimed use of his title as ‘Henry Potter’ in Europe to come and be the boy’s representative.

She wondered if Albus Dumbledore knew that Harry was in contact with James Potter’s vampire grandcarrier. If the boy knew who his great grandcarrier was, he certainly knew that Gellert Grindelwald was his great-grandfather. This paper might be quite a shock for the elder Dumbledore. 

She noted that the man was keeping his mouth shut and wasn’t drawing anyone’s, particularly the teenagers' attention to himself.

Everyone, even Sirius, jumped when the floo fired green and Percival Graves stepped out, while Aberforth stood with his arms crossed next to the fire place, obviously having summoned him. The man looked, perhaps, in his mid-forties where he had not let himself age since the twenties. 

The Director took in the room but froze at the sight of Harry still getting treated and rolled his eyes, “I left you down the street twenty minutes ago! How in Mary and Morgana’s fucking name did you get into a fight between the street and here?!”

“Grandpa Percy, it’s not my fault!” Harry defended, pointing toward the street, “Those idiots just showed up out of nowhere!”

“Get’s that damn spark from James and your stupid ass husband,” Aberforth muttered and Percy just snorted.

“Don’t say it so loud,” Percy muttered so low only Abby could hear him, “They’re still listening to me for the moment.”

Aberforth took a deep breath and nodded in understanding. Percy had told him years ago what really happened between Gellert’s second slaughtering a child against his orders and the moron’s supposed duel with Albus. Apparently his husband losing faith in Gellert’s cause forced him into a crisis of his own and the blonde went to prison willingly after Percy left for America with their son, Fleamont. 

Luckily Grindelwald’s super charged siren abilities, that even Sirius couldn’t match, had proved to skip a generation with Fleamont. They had yet to determine if the same pattern would apply between James and his son. But, once Harry had taken off, there was no one else Aberforth would have trusted to track the teenagers down, besides his best friend.

The vampire Director had been staying at his flat in London until Harry’s hearing. He’d kept the place since Flea moved back to Europe and had James with Euphemia much later in their lives, even for wizarding families. It had been easy to sick the man on the band of teenagers, even though it had taken Abby and his son some time to get Percy into the warding.

He couldn’t quite hate Grindelwald as much as he had once; perhaps Aberforth even admitted to hating him less than he did his own brother. Percy was decent enough to keep that between them and, given that the vampire had been ignored by Albus for a century, understood the younger Dumbledore’s plight. Neither man wanted Harry forced into a position where he would listen to no one but his great grandfather, but were prepared to summon his ass from Nurmengard if necessary. 

Both prayed Albus’ treachery in shipping Harry off to the muggle world had been discovered in enough time to fix the mess their family had become. Percy was still cautious, however, as Gellert refused to say if Harry had come to Nurmengard since the reveal that he’d been living with Petunia Evans’ family. The last time his siren mate was silent lipped with Percy, they wound up separated for three decades.

They both moved into the room, Abby helping his friend corner Sirius for an explanation, but he also told the vampire how the attack occurred quickly, so the Director didn’t give his son too much trouble. While standing across the room, the younger Dumledore brother noticed Teddy still clinging to his godbrother’s neck happily, Harry’s examination was almost done. He could feel the ecstatic presence of the young tot across his fae empathy. 

Unfortunately no one else, not even Andromeda, noticed the growing amount of red starting to fill the young tot’s shirt and pants. He reached over for Percy, “Look.”

One glance toward the pair and Percy had his wand out, ready to intervene. Andromeda was a great healer but even the Director couldn’t imagine how much adrenaline was coursing through his grandson if he wasn’t feeling his injuries yet. Gellert always proved resistant to any magic not performed by someone he was close to, so Percy wasn’t sure the woman had the magical prowess to manipulate across Harry’s vast family magics.

“Teddy, step away from Harry for a minute,” Aberforth instructed, following his friend over to their grandson. That drew everyone’s attention to the problem, even Harry’s. Stepping away from the young animagus, Teddy was covered in blood from throat to toe, making Tonks and Remus look faint, although it was obvious that the blood was coming from the young Potter.

Without so much as a flinch, Harry reached back to feel the long gash, that apparently spanned the entirely of his shoulders. Pulling his hand around to look at the then soaked appendage the Potter heir muttered, “Huh, will you look at that.”

“That pain tolerance, on the other hand,” Aberforth informed his best friend, “Is strictly your fault.”

Percy raised an eyebrow at him, as the American helped Harry get the leather jacket he was wearing off. 

Andromeda stepped back to assist the more experienced Director any way that she could.

“And, perhaps, my idiot brother, but who are we kidding, that’s no surprise,” Abby added after reading the look. At fifteen James hadn’t had any idea how high his natural pain tolerance was, vampire inheritances not kicking in until someone turned twenty-five. Harry should have been way more surprised by the injury then he was, unless he’d already been forced to figure it out.

The teenager was more concerned with his leather jacket that had been ripped, then he was the injury, according to the bitch fest he was partaking in with Neville.

Narcissa saw the older Dumbledore, who she still doubted Harry even recognized or realized was there, looking ready to throw himself down a moving staircase. She realized that he was totally horrified by what Harry had endured and clearly blamed himself. Something in his face told her that he felt he should have seen this; Harry’s plan to sneak off, the animagi forms, and his willingness to battle Greyback. 

After all, to varied degrees of acknowledgment, Harry was his grandson too.

“I’m eighty percent sure I can fix it,” Neville offered grabbing the jacket.

“I cannot believe that’s what you’re worried about right now,” Percy complained, “Lay flat on your stomach across the table.”

Harry followed the orders, for a moment, but seemed to freeze right before bending over the table. Neville gave him a look from where he was huddled with the twins over the leather jacket, “Did you just think it through?”

“Yep,” Harry pondered for a moment before just sucking it up and bending over, although the stretch lit his back on fire. He should have gone for Greyback and ripped his throat out when he had the chance. The bastard never could have done this if he hadn’t gotten Harry by surprise first anyway.

Not wanting his grandson to reach over his head, knowing it would cause severe pain and possibly more damage, Graves just cut the blue shirt he was wearing off; it was far beyond salvageable anyway. The cut looked as bad as any of them could have imagined but it wasn’t what drew his immediate attention. There was already a bandage covering the majority of the boy’s back, though it was now soaked through as well, and he realized immediately what the boys had done for part of the night. 

Percy laughed, “You went and got a tattoo?”

“What?!” Aberforth shouted, pushing past the trio of Gryffindors to look at the boy’s back, “Sirius!... Wait, what am I saying, Remus! Yell at him! And I thought you were with them?”

The room couldn’t help but laugh at that, Sirius wandered over to look, before realizing there was still a bandage in place. Instead he reached for Harry’s hands, letting his own veins run black and using siren magic to numb him, “Are you implying I have too many tattoos?”

“Son, you don’t have any skin left from the waist up.”

Narcissa smiled at that from across the room, as she’d always loved Sirius’ tattoos and had remarked how attractive they were when they were younger.

“I was with them , but only after you told me that they took off,” Percival admitted as the younger Dumbledore went to slap his shoulder, “I had to track them down first!”

“You didn’t drink before getting the tattoo did you?” Sirius asked his godson once both their hands were braced and they were both bent over the table, eye to eye.

“I did not,” Harry confirmed and there was nothing on his breath, so the other man nodded. 

Sirius couldn’t say too much, this was a stunt he and James would have definitely pulled. Although there would be a serious conversation about what happened with Peter, once they were alone. Getting a tattoo at fifteen wasn’t ideal but he and James had been fourteen and Narcissa would definitely sell him out, so there was no point.

“Where did you idiots go anyway?”

“The old marauder apartment; Fred and George did it. Dad had it paid through for twenty years.”

“Yes, he did. Wanted to tell you about it when you turned sixteen. Gringotts?”

“Yep.”

“Ah fuck,” Percival muttered, drawing Sirius’ attention up. At his surrogate grandson’s raised eyebrow, he thought about going ahead and revealing what was beneath the bandage that he’d just pulled off. From a certain perspective it really was beautiful. 

But, after thinking it through for just a second, as Aberforth had wandered back over to the fireplace muttering about tattoos and teenagers, and seeing Harry go about as tense as anyone could possibly be, the Director changed his mind, “Nothing, this cut is just about as nasty as I’ve ever seen. Bud, any higher on your neck and you’d have been in real trouble. I hope you beat the shit out of somebody.”

“We did!” All four teens chorused at the exact same time and it made him smile. Seeing his grandson relax, realizing he was not about to be sold out, also made the vampire proud of his decision.

“Please don’t pull stunts like this often,” Sirius said, seeing that Percy was starting to clean the nasty cut. Part of him wanted to look but he also did not want to draw everyone’s attention to them. Most were either distracting themselves with another teen or each other, creating a false but appreciated barrier of privacy.

“Oh, I think it’s safe to say that this was a once in a lifetime deal.”

Sirius laughed, “Give yourself time to recoup, you’ll think of something else. Your yearly adventures have been legendary up to this point from what I’m told.”

Harry said nothing as Molly Weasley started laying into the twins something awful. Seeing Sirius turn to listen to the rant, Harry carefully glanced over his godfather’s shoulder without moving his head, not wanting to draw attention. 

Neville, taking advantage of everyone’s attention being on the rant, was at Harry’s trunk, which hadn’t made it past the living area. Admittedly, Harry had not been planning for a werewolf ambush, although he supposed that happened when you pushed insane dark lords into a corner and made them desperate. C’est la vie.

His best mate grabbed a shirt; a crimson, but more importantly, button down shirt. Thank Merlin for forward thinking friends. Neville stuffed it in the inner pocket of his own leather jacket. 

As soon as his surrogate mother had yelled herself hoarse, she took off for the kitchen to fix them something to eat, mostly as an excuse to vent her extra anxiety. The twins claimed to have something to fix his jacket and headed for the stairs. Only three other people knew that they were really going to retrieve that damn locket, which they had procured from Kreacher’s cabinet, the last basilisk fang, and his potion. 

It was the last of the horcruxes, excluding Nagini, and Harry, of course, but he had an assistant on the first and the potion he created should take care of the second. Hoping to Gryffindor himself that his grandcarrier would be done before the real event of the night got back to this place, Harry looked over at their real reason for coming back here. Pretty soon the rest of the night’s events would came out and all the adults would need some time to cool off before they made Mrs. Weasley’s shouts look like underdoing it.

Draco relaxed and grinned at him as soon as their eyes met. His first mate and Harry had realized some time ago that their attraction was deeper than just a crush, long before their inheritances had kicked in. They even knew who their other mate was, even though Luna was a year younger than them, thanks to Harry’s visions. 

He’d warned Draco that tonight was going to be a wild ride and they’d devised a plan for getting the blonde’s mother and sister somewhere safe before it all unfolded. His dragon’s only job had been to find another exit besides the front door, so they had an alternative to whatever a particular ex-deatheater would be using. With a nod, he knew that Draco had succeeded. 

Now, they just needed to make a quick exit when they could, before Harry’s father was able to make it back here to kill him without mercy. Despite what Sirius still thought, tonight was a once in a lifetime event, if he survived it.

“Alright, hell spawn, you’re finished,” Percival told him, “Brace, the stitches are magic so they’ll stretch. You’ll have to let go of Sirius, so it’ll hurt back a bitch, but it’s necessary to make sure you have full movement.”

Harry was somewhat proud of himself when every auror in the room, Sirius still counted in the category as far as he was concerned, flinched when he wrapped his arms around himself and linked them behind his back. Did it hurt? Fuck yes, but Vernon Dursley had given him far worse, and getting the worst of it over with remained the priority. 

Fred and George returned as he did it, making comments on Harry’s own thoughts and the professionals’ reactions.

Molly came back into the room, ordering all the teens either upstairs or into the kitchen to eat so that the adults could talk. Harry was sure that they needed to debrief on the mission to retrieve him, it having officially ended now that they were back. No one seemed shocked that Draco followed them. 

The twins told him earlier that his mate had only just arrived before they made a run for it and that Ron and Hermione had stayed upstairs since their arrival to the Order’s headquarters. Harry wouldn’t be surprised if his mate didn’t even realize they were there. The blonde Slytherin choosing company over solitude would hopefully signal the positive, rather than cause worry for the adults.

It had been a long night and they were all hungry, but, as the night ended and their morning unfolded, it seemed that luck was not on their side.

The front door crashed open, Severus Snape shouting, “Where is he?!”

Draco grabbed Harry’s hand and led the group out the back door, which was not far from the kitchen. They made it outside and Harry side apparated with Draco. The twins had removed the Ministry’s standard tracking charms at the start of the night but they weren’t willing to wait and do the same for the blonde right then. They were gone from London before anyone in The Order of the Phoenix even realized that they were no longer in the house.

Sirius was by no means a master of reading Severus Snape’s emotions, but even he could hear the absolute terror in the man’s voice, “Relax; he’s here, safe, and in the kitchen.”

Severus came in, slightly calmed by the information, but headed straight for the kitchen anyway, desperately needing to see that his son had pulled it off and was now safe. When the area was empty, dread filled him once again, “No, he’s not!”

The entire damn order, Sirius leading the charge, came in to inspect and saw that the teenagers were indeed missing. The recent fugitive growled, “So help me Merlin, if they did not go upstairs, I am going to kill that kid.”

“No you’re not,” Remus pointed out.

“I’ll think about it!” Sirius shouted, charging for the stairs, “Long and hard!! Harry!!!”

Everyone searched the house and quickly came to the same conclusion; the kids had not gone to sleep in the twins’ designated room, to find their own space in the house, and weren’t attempting to spy on the Order meeting. They were gone again, this time with Draco. Once everyone was gathered back in the kitchen, Sirius was continuing his rant.

“I’m going to kill him and we’ll see what his mother thinks of this fucking stunt. I survive twelve years in Azkaban without grey hair and he’s trying to do me in all in one night!!!”

“You don’t know the half of what he’s done tonight,” Severus told him, but everyone quickly realized he was not being a jackass. He was distraught. As if to prove his point, the potions master lifted his sleeve and bared his arm to all, there was nothing there.

“How in the bollocks?” Aberforth gasped first.

Even Albus Dumbledore, who was standing next to his still aged but younger brother, looked bewildered by what could have happened.

With a wave of his wand, Severus used a spell Gellert had created to spawn visions and memories for others to see. It was not as good as the pensieve, although it was based off the same magic, but all could see what was happening from his perspective.

He was surrounded by death eaters, who was next to him a mystery, as they were all in full garb. They were standing in an illegal magic site that was run out of a dark forest in Yorkshire, which the owner used like their own personal nightclub. All sorts of magical creatures were dancing to various performers that flocked onto the stage at will. From the number of deatheaters before and after Severus, it looked like most of Voldemort’s followers were present, if not all.

Everyone watching gasped as Harry, Neville, Fred, and George took the stage looking as confident as any hippogriff, unafraid of whatever they were about to do. Harry said something, they could only guess using an amplifying charm, looking directly at the dark lord unphased. 

They couldn’t hear him because of the spawning spell. Still whatever it was must have scared the life out of Severus, because he was glancing back and forth between the two, his son and the Dark Lord. Everyone watching could almost feel his panic through the memory.

But his attention was locked on the stage alone when Harry cast a spell, green flames matching his eyes erupting around him in a circle beyond the stage.

“Oh my God,” Albus gasped, horrified for the last part of Lily that he had left.

Whatever song the boys had started performing did not disturb the spell, and people, deatheaters and party goers alike, poured into the ring of fire. Many apparated away the moment that they were inside, others stayed and continued dancing or singing along. Aberforth watched his grandson’s mouth and quickly realized what he was singing; the bar owner had heard the call to arms bellowed in his tavern often enough.

It was all fun and games until the song ended and Harry said something else. Whatever it was, it seemed to kick Severus and a few more of the remaining deatheaters outside the circle from their mesmerized state, as they escaped into the flames. The Order members watching could almost feel Severus’ flinch as he quickly passed through and then went to ripping at his sleeve, seeing that the mark was gone, before returning to staring at his son, looking up at him from just below the start of the stage.

Harry started saying something else, looking at Voldemort and his few remaining followers, all of the party goers were either inside the circle or gone. The flames started to part, just enough for one person to walk up the column they created, and they soared up past the Dark Lord. Harry said something else as he and the monster that was once Tom Riddle stared down one another. 

Fear came into the snake like man’s eyes and he apparated, more importantly was allowed to apparate, away. Severus stared at Harry again and even the order members watching could read the last word from Harry’s lips before he apparated away and the memory ended.

“Coward.”

Everyone was frozen, no one knew what to do now.

After several long minutes of staring at one another, Sirius was revived first, “Severus, I need a favor.”

“What?”

“Make his life a living hell this year!”

Everyone laughed, even the boy’s father, although he did not agree to the favor. He agreed with Black for the first time in his life, however, because he thought about it long and hard.

Albus looked at the younger man, “Severus, what did he say right before Tom apparated away?”

The potions master grimaced, “Let’s finish this, you and I.”

“I’m going to kill that kid!!!” Remus finally broke.

“No, you’re not,” Sirius told him.

“Shut up, Sirius!”

“Using that spell always requires rules,” Percival stated drawing attention to himself for the first time since the kids disappeared, “What were they?”

“Leave your loyalty to Lord Voldemort behind, never follow him again, never harm another living thing unless in self defense, and earn your freedom.”

Albus snorted, “That even left it open for Tom to cross, that was just a name he made up.”

Aberforth finally spoke up, “Look, I’ve got strong feelings about what he’s done tonight too. But we’ve still got to find these kids before the asshole gets any more desperate. He already proved to be grasping with the ambush.”

“Where would they possibly go now?” Tonks asked, “Back to the apartment Harry mentioned?”

“They could have,” Remus told his wife, “It’s what James…"

“But he’s not James!” Sirius yelled, “Damn it, we have been out thought, out maneuvered, and out gunned all night because all anyone has ever wanted to see in that kid is his father. Guess what, he’s a fucking mama’s boy.”

The Black Lord turned on his uncle, “What would your mini-me have done?!”

“Hmm,” Albus pondered the question for several moments, what would Lily have done, “Probably put as much distance between us and them as possible. It would have given all of us a chance to process what happened and calm down.”

“Again, I say, the apartment?”

“He would never have mentioned it earlier if that’s where they were going back to, Moony!” Sirius growled, “Plus, it’s right around the bloody corner.”

“Hogwarts?” Kingsley asked.

“No, I might not be there, but Minerva is. She would sense students and come looking.”

Suddenly Graves busted out laughing, “Sirius you owe Remus an apology… Maybe not in spirit but definitely in placement.”

“What?” Aberforth asked him confused.

“It’s not a question of where or what, but who. Who did James always run to when he was in trouble?”

“No one, James was an isolator.”

“Sirius, listen to me,” Percival instructed him, “I didn’t say when he was angry or bored. When you boys were in trouble, when things went a little too far, and you were genuinely afraid of Euphemia, or Flea, or me actually having your asses for some dumb stunt; _who_ did you run to?”

“...Oh bollocks.”

“That’s right straight to grandpa, because he’d protect you… The interior wards in Nurmengard just went up.”

There was a little more discussion because, on the one hand, the kids couldn’t really be more safe unless they had gone to Hogwarts or Gringotts, but they still needed to be collected. Not everyone needed to be present, however, and some people desperately needed to either get to work or to bed, most of them had been up for at least a day by that point. It was finally decided that those who could go would and everyone else could head home.

Sirius and Kingsley double checked the floo before letting anyone leave and everyone was required to firecall immediately once they were home and safe, before the next person could leave. Molly took Ron, Hermione, and Ginny back to the burrow first. Mad Eye had to go into the office with a clipped comment about Sirius getting his ass back to work so that he could go back to retirement; Andromeda also had a shift at St. Mungos to get to. Tonks was happily keeping Teddy at Grimmauld place with Narcissa and Capri, as it was her day off.

Since the twins were with Harry, Arthur stayed behind, as Molly could handle no more. No one had heard from Augusta yet, the woman probably not even realizing Neville wasn’t still asleep, but they certainly weren’t willing to face her without the boy in tow, especially given his current location. Wanting the get the teens back as quickly as possible to sleep off this crazy scheme of a night, or more like morning as it was now just after eight, Sirius, Remus, Severus and Percival, with Arthur, Albus, and Aberforth all set off for Nurmengard.

Landing in front of the magnificent structure, the Weasley patriarch was in awe. Everyone knew that Gellert Grindelwald had been imprisoned within his own castle, but it was interesting that the place was nothing like he’d always imagined Azkaban, especially after the few times Sirius talked about that hell hole. He was sure that being stuck in one place for decade upon decade would be torturous in its own right, however if there were ever a place to be stuck… Well this place truly was mesmerizing.

Everyone who had been there before just wanted to see that the kids were safe and get this over with, so they headed straight in. Aberforth couldn’t believe that he was finally stooping to coming here. It felt blasphemous through to his core.

Gellert tended to stay in his personal quarters, so that was where they all headed, Percival leading the charge. Whatever they had all expected to walk in on after the night they’d already faced, it was not to enter the living area to see Harry Potter and Gellert Grindelwald, nose to nose, having the screaming match of the century.

“... I told you not to ever use that spell!”

“And I ignored you! It’s what you do when someone is being an idiot! I don’t think I’m getting enough credit for managing to pull this off in one night!”

“That is not the point! Do you have any idea how badly that could have gone? How badly this entire night could have gone?!”

“Yes, believe it or not, it was discussed at length!”

“Gods damn it all, Harry! This is not a game! Mine is not a legacy you want to be leaning into!”

“I’m sorry, I’ve yet to see a band of maniacal followers or dead children in my wake, you’ll have to explain that one to me! I happened to use a spell you created, that’s it!”

“It’s a dark spell, you had no business messing with it! It should have died with me!”

“Dark magic is not necessarily bad, it’s all about intent! I was protecting people!”

“It’s not just about protecting others, curse it all! You are worth protecting! Your mother did not leave this earth so you could follow after me and think it’s all about sacrificing yourself for the greater good!!”

“And my mother didn’t leave this earth wanting me to be a coward who checked out and left the world to ruin because I got scared! We are either conscious in this world or we are nothing!! And if I’m the last person in this family that remembers that so be it, but I will not apologize just because you and the walking Bumblebee decided to let the world burn for one kid and turned a blind eye to being alive!!!” The teenager turned on his heels and stormed from the room without ever realizing that they were there. 

Draco, Neville, Fred, and George, who were standing near the door he exited, happily followed him out of the room, noses in the air.

None of the adults saw the previous Dark Lord notice their arrival but he turned to them, not quite yelling but voice still raised, “How in the fuck did I lose the moral high ground in that conversation!?”

“Breathe,” Percival instructed his husband. He was morbidly curious about how long the fight had been happening. He could feel both men’s magic whipping around the room, even after Harry exited.

“He doesn’t listen!”

“Ah, well, runs in the family,” Percival told him, moving to sit down on one of the recliners in the living area of Gellert’s suite, Aberforth joined him in the one right beside it. The other men followed them; Remus and Sirius on one couch, while Severus and Arthur took another. Albus just hopped up on Gellert’s desk that was next to him.

“How are you not having an aneurysm over this?” Gellert demanded of his husband, before turning to Albus, “Side with me on this, please!”

“I would love to, really, I would,” Albus genuinely assured his best friend, mate, and ex-boyfriend, “But, you want to talk about losing the moral high ground; I was rightfully mentioned in that little spill, if you didn’t notice.”

“I noticed, I just assumed you were mad at him too.”

Percival rolled his eyes, “Did he actually show you what happened? Or did you have him tell you and start screaming the second he said protego diabolica?”

Gellert froze from his pacing at that question, “What possible difference could that make? He was using dark magic!”

“Alright, Severus, once more for the blonde, please.”

Five minutes later, they were sitting around and Gellert felt terrible and intrigued as visions flooded him, “I should not have yelled at him.”

“I know,” Percival acknowledged, getting up.

“Where are you going?” Albus asked the mate he’d never acknowledged due to guilt, as the American simply started heading from the room.

“Well someone is going to have to talk to the teenagers and I’m not trusting either of you to do it.”

“Best decision anyone around here has made tonight!” Aberforth hollered after him.

Percy just waved to acknowledge him, heading up the stairs to the sleeping quarters. As he was ascending the vampire Director was shocked to feel Albus Dumbledore opening up his mating bonds for the first time in almost a century. He pushed the newness aside, the children were their priorities, not wayward mates.

Although he wanted to be surprised when the door to James’ old room was ajar, Percy really wasn’t. This wasn’t the first time their family’s youngest had snuck to Nurmengard, although it did seem to be the first time since the tournament ended. Pushing open the door just a little more so that he could see in, the other boys noticed him, but Harry did not, where he was pacing and ranting at the floor.

“...and he doesn’t listen!”

“Ah, well, runs in the family.”

Harry groaned, “You cannot agree with him!”

“I do not.”

“But I was pro...huh?”

“I do not agree with him,” Percy repeated, “Quite frankly after seeing your father’s memory, G doesn’t agree with himself.”

The boy sat down on the window sill in the room, “What am I supposed to do now?”

Percy smiled and walked over to sit next to him, “I’d recommend getting your well deserved apology from the blonde, food, one hell of a pain potion, and sleep. Quite frankly, I can’t believe your magic hasn’t bottomed out already.”

When his grandson said nothing, the director pulled the boy up to face him, “Or has it?”

Harry grinned sheepishly, showing his grandcarrier the splinched fingernail he’d gotten apparating he and Draco to Nurmengard, “I got down below thirty percent of my own magic in my body coming here.”

“Hmm, and I’m sure refusing to back down lash out for lash out with the powerhouse downstairs while arguing did not help,” Graves stated, “Have you ever done a magical boost spell?”

The boy who lived shook his head, but the man only shrugged, “Don’t worry, it’s not hard. I do most of the work, just open your magic up and stand still.”

The other boys watched as the Director of Security for Macusa for close to a century muttered a spell they could not quite hear, while facing their fearless leader and friend, their foreheads touching. Silver strands of what they supposed was pure magic slipped from one’s lips to the other’s.

Harry felt, well it didn’t feel as natural as his own magic being upped, but his magic felt more stable in his body. He was a little nauseous when the spell started but other than that he largely just felt better. They were all surprised when, as the spell was ending, the others from down stairs appeared in the doorway and recognized the spell.

“What’s wrong?” It was Severus who demanded an answer.

“Nothing,” Percival told them, “A little bout of low magic. But what are you going to do, taking on Dark Lords is a hard job. I’ll ask the same now?”

“Workers from the ministry just arrived on the premises and are trying to get in. Albus thinks they are going to offer your husband some sort of magical deal for helping to bring in Voldemort,” Aberforth caught him up as quickly as possible, “We have to get the kids out of here before the blonde terror is willing to let them in.”

“I agree with him,” Percy knew his husband would never put Harry at risk. His angry reaction to their grandson using Protego Diabolica was just fear for the teenager’s sake, “Well, there are six of you and five boys here, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll stay and see what’s going on.”

Everyone started to pair up off, but Percy set Harry with a look before letting him side apparate with Severus, “You can only do that with close relatives or mates, so don’t get too tempted and abuse the privilege. Also, you’re only back up to above thirty percent of magic in your body, don’t push it.”

“Got it.”

“That’s my boy.”

Their arrival back to Grimmauld Place was uneventful. It seemed like the first time in a century that had happened, but the band was grateful nonetheless. Walking in the front door, Sirius was surprised to find Arthur had followed them back after a quick patronus to his wife, explaining that the boys were too exhausted to make it back to the burrow and that they were staying there. Not that he minded of course, the four Gryffindors looked ready to pass out.

His son seemed content to judge them silently. The boy clearly took after his mother and it was adorable. Sirius was barely resisting the urge to smother him.

Albus and Aberforth headed for Hogwarts and Hogsmeade respectively, once the others were safely inside. The younger fae said nothing about Albie finally being in the same place as both his mates or the fact that the Headmaster had actually spoken to Percy for the first time in their lives. The older fae said nothing about Abby finally going to Nurmengard.

Inside Grimmauld Place, the adults had to all but force the young animagi to eat rather than sleeping in their food. Once they had consumed something, the race for the nearest beds was on with no complaint from any of them. Severus forced a pain potion into his son and then looked for the nearest unoccupied guest room for himself. 

Walking back downstairs into the living room, once the teens were safely tucked in, the two marauders were surprised to see Narcissa still on the sofa. She was reading something with Tonks fast asleep in her lap. The metamorphmagus was obviously exhausted from the mission and fight with the deatheaters.

Remus picked her up, but Teddy and Capricornia were both fast asleep on the floor, so he told the sirens, “I’ll be right back to get him.”

“No, Moony, go to sleep. I’ll put him down.”

“Thanks, Padfoot.”

“Yep, I’m also putting spells on the doors so I know if anyone leaves.”

“Nervous?” The werewolf asked making a beeline for the stairs, his wife held easily in his arms.

“At this point, it’s straight anxiety. We were never this much trouble.”

Remus was halfway up the stairs and almost dropped his wife he went to laugh so hard, “If you lie to anyone, it is only yourself.”

Sirius flopped onto the couch the second his best friend was out of sight, his head going straight into Narcissa’s lap. She tensed, maybe for a moment, but before he could move, her hands found their way into his hair and she seemed fine. So he stayed and buried his nose into her stomach.

She smiled down at him, “So, did you have to fight the big bad Dark Lord for custody of his grandson?”

Sirius snorted, rolling onto his back to look up at her, “Actually, they had a huge row as we were getting there. Gellert was in the wrong but they didn’t get the chance to make up. Ministry idiots are trying to make some sort of deal with him to bring in Voldy.”

Her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, but he only shook his head, “Honestly, no one is sure. Grandpa Graves stayed to see what was going on with the whole damn thing. Everyone knows they’re married, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone he’s there, whatever's afoot. We just had to get the boys out.”

He glanced over at the sleeping toddlers, “How long have they been out?”

“When we came out from viewing the memory and you all took off for Nurmengard they were already down. So since seven, maybe?”

Sirius checked his pocket watch, “Holy Merlin, it’s almost ten. They’ll probably be up in a couple of hours.”

“I’m sure Molly will come over early to lay her eyes on the twins. Hopefully we can keep them busy.”

He hummed, “Sleep with me? Just sleep, just for a while?”

“I’d love to; I wasn’t sure if you wanted that or…”

“Wanted it? I’ve been arguing with your sister for five days over the whole thing.”

“She seemed upset you didn’t tell her about Draco earlier.”

“I didn’t want to put you in a bad spot if you weren’t ready to tell anyone that.”

“He’s yours. He may look like me and take a lot after my personality, but sometimes that mouth gets him into trouble, just like you. I’ve suspected it for a while, I was just so afraid to hope…”

She started to tear up and he quickly moved to sit up and pull her closer to him, “I know, Cissy. I’m so sorry everything got so fucked up, I let my temper get the better of me.” Sirius kissed the top of her head as she cried, “Hey, I swear, I’m not going anywhere, not again. I love you, and Draco, and Harry, and Capri far too much to let myself react like that again.”

“I love you too. Let’s go upstairs before these two wake up.

Everyone made it until noon before the tots were up and looking for an adult. Tonks was the first one up, along with Molly having arrived to see all her kids, and she be damned if that didn’t still include Harry, as well as Neville now. They fixed a big breakfast, expecting the teens to wake up ravenous. 

Aberforth arrived a little later, only awake because he had a business to run that didn’t care what sort of night he’d had. He stayed long enough to pass it off to his apprentice then came to Grimmauld place to find coffee because he didn’t drink from his own supply. It was no shock that his son and little Cissy were down for the count.

The kids were back on their landing, playing exploding snaps, while the adults set in to power through the day. The resident couples were still asleep when the screaming started.

Running into the living room, they found the kids under attack by a cretin gnome, a malevolent creature that hid in abandoned houses, and attacked pets and small children, or any being primarily composed of untainted joy. They were best defeated by sound spells, as loud noises rendered them unable to attack, but any type of spell that would usually be used would also affect and hurt Capri and Teddy. The creature had already torn a huge hole in the floor separating them from the way out, and they couldn’t jump from the landing, as it would just attack them in the air.

Arriving on the scene already out of options, Sirius turned into his animagus form and started barking like crazy. The sound wasn’t loud enough to render the thing catatonic like they needed, but it did keep it from going directly after the kids. It also served to rouse the teenagers from their rooms. He’d worry much later about the fact that Harry came out of Draco’s room, instead of the room housing Neville and the twins.

Neville followed Sirius example first, his size meaning he couldn’t get across the hole in the floor, and he was the second loudest anyway. He got the thing put down, though it didn’t stay there long. It was enough for Harry to change and leap over, one loud roar and the gnome dropped like a ton of bricks. 

Getting down on his stomach, Harry got the kids to climb onto his back, then moved to leap back over the whole. He almost made it, but the creature got back up and grabbed his tail, attempting to get Teddy, who was in the back. Missing the majority of the landing, all he could do was dig his front claws in and let the twins grab for the two kids clinging to him. Unfortunately between the old wood floors and the lack of structural integrity thanks to the bloody cretin gnome, the floor that he was clinging to crumbled, the beam with it, and landed squarely on top of him.

Severus and Remus got to the boy first, as Sirius was calling for someone to get Poppy from Hogwarts, since she would arrive far faster than Andromeda. They got all of the wood away from him, but it was obvious that the damage was done, as he had a busted lip and a whole lot of bruising. A quick diagnostic spell from Remus showed that he also had broken ribs and a punctured lung.

The werewolf was just relieved that the teenager had the thought to change back on his way down.

Draco and the Gryffindors came speeding into the room, but were quickly told to stay out of the way. They saw Madam Pomfrey arrive, the Headmaster right behind her, and she quickly set the three adult men to aid tasks, such as gathering potions and towels. The woman was muttering about how it was always Potter and the school year hadn’t even started yet, but luckily she was looking at Professor Snape as she pulled the boy’s pajama shirt open.

Thank Merlin, because it was not a pretty sight and it had nothing to do with his current injuries. There were scars littering his torso, clearly very old given that they were faded, but no one, besides Neville, had ever seen them before and the boy knew his best friend didn’t want to change that today. 

Since his best friend was unconscious and unable to maintain his own like normal, the Longbottom heir threw glamours back onto his friend and glanced around. It didn’t look like anyone besides the band had seen...

Unfortunately he saw the horrified look on Albus Dumbledore’s face right before the man turned and left the house before he could do or say anything.

But the glamours were not invasive and didn’t disrupt what the healer was doing, so Harry was up and moving within a few minutes. The teen was thanking Merlin his stitches didn’t break, as he was still avoiding the tattoo conversation. He let the healer fix him up with a lecture on messing up her time without students. He just grinned at her, saying he missed her bedside manner. 

Since no one was going back to sleep after that little adventure, Harry was sent upstairs to change his shirt, one more now stained with blood that could not be saved, and everyone was told to come get breakfast. Feigning concern Neville followed him upstairs and told him about what the older Dumbledore brother had seen.

Harry cursed then started to plot, “Whichever of us gets to the twins first, tell them I need a way out of here in less than an hour. We’ll be back before anyone knows we’re gone… And tell them to bring the stuff to get set up for McGonagall too.”

“Sirius is gonna kill us if he catches us!”

“I know.”

Ten minutes later, Neville had gotten to George, George had gotten to Fred, and the twins scarfed down an unimaginable amount of food in ten more so they could escape to scheme. They discovered that Sirius had put charms on the doors to alert him when anyone left; the first person to go out them without him knowing about it would be caught red handed.

Of course, the first rule of pranking; if you have to make a choice between using magic and illusion, always choose illusion, because its power was that no one ever saw it coming, since they didn’t want to. So, they looked for the simplest exit without the charm in place and that was a window on the first floor since it was at the street level. Picking the second to last room on an uncleaned hallway, they opened the window to prepare for their exit. Getting back in shouldn’t be a problem, as the charm was only one way and they could use the window in a pinch. 

Now they just needed a look out to distract and cover for them.

“Babe, we need a favor,” Harry said.

“You know, you did tell my father that last night was a once in a lifetime deal. What could you possibly be up to now?”

“We need to sneak out.”

Draco, who was lying on his bed reading after breakfast, grabbed a pillow and smacked the curly haired Potter with all his might, “Have you lost your mind? No! Last night is over, you are done with this for… ever!”

“This is not a Voldy thing, Dray. This is an I have to talk to the headmaster because he’s also my grandfather and there’s been a miscommunication… Oh and they made promises to McGonagall their asses don’t want to break because she will break them.”

“Explain,” Draco said, then cut Harry off when he went to answer, “The first part only. The second goes without saying.”

“Fine… See... “ Harry sighed, he’d never explained this to anyone else. “During the three way fight between the Dumbledores and Grandpa Gellert, dark curses were being thrown. To sum it up bluntly my Grandpa Abby was rendered infertile.”

The Potter heir fiddled with the cover on the abandoned pillow, “He was angry about it for years but he really wanted a kid. Eventually my Grandpa Orion asked Albus Dumbledore to help, so that my mom would be a legitimate Dumbledore. Grandpa Orion and Albus Dumbledore used a potion to conceive my mother, but she was kidnapped by muggle extremists and adopted by the Evans... I don’t know exactly when but Mom found out at some point during her time at Hogwarts.”

Draco grabbed his hand, wishing he hadn’t asked even as his mate continued. The blonde wasn’t sure how they’d never known this, but he could tell the rest of the band was as suprised as him. Harry clearly hadn’t wanted to discuss it, “I always suspected that the red hair probably gave it away, honestly, and even though she loved both Dumbledores a lot, she was, apparently, always extremely close to the Headmaster.”

Neville took over when it was clear Draco wouldn’t push farther, “You never told us that. I always thought Aberforth Dumbledore was your grandfather.”

“That was the plan, to make everyone think that,” Harry assured him, “But mom told me in her letter. She was afraid they wouldn’t if something happened to her… Besides, he’s ignored me for four years on that front. Didn’t seem like much of a point.”

“And the miscommunication?”

Harry sighed, “You know my time with the Dursleys wasn’t great, well, he thinks that was all his fault and we really need to talk about it.”

Draco groaned, “Fine, but after this, that’s it! You’re done! I don’t think your body can handle any more for a long while.”

“Who are you telling?”

They took off for Hogwarts with Draco distracting the adults by going into the living room and complaining about them working on their damn business deal and kicking him out. The band of Gryffindors could only hope that would be enough to keep anyone from seeking them out. Their exit out the window went off without a hitch, most of the adults still off their game from the night before, and they found the nearest alley way to apparate to Hogsmeade.

Once they hiked to Hogwarts, they knew they were on borrowed time, but luckily the only two people that would be able to sense them were who they all needed to see.

As they were sneaking into the castle, Harry spotted his red haired grandfather sitting on the shores of the lake and broke from the group earlier than expected. His presence probably wasn’t going to go well, but he was grateful that the great castle hadn’t immediately alerted the headmaster when they walked onto the grounds.

The remaining trio took off to complete their task for McGonagall, who was unhappy with who the ministry wanted to stick at Hogwarts as a teacher for the year and had called in a favor. Their mission was to drive the woman to quit before the school year even started through whatever, non-lethal, why their head of house felt the need to specify that was a mystery, means necessary and the woman was supposed to be visiting tomorrow. Harry figured, since they were already here, the boys could just set everything to a timer, and they wouldn’t have to worry about the next day.

When someone sat down next to Albus by the Great Lake, he honestly expected it to be Aberforth, finally coming to kill him for what he had done. There would never be an excuse for what he allowed to happen, for what he caused, and the red haired headmaster wished he hadn’t even bothered to de-age when G told him that Abby was going to end up doing it as well. More time with Harry, Sirius, and their remaining family did not seem possible, when he was sure that none of them were going to let him within a mile of anyone, as everything he caused came out.

So, when he looked over and it was Harry sitting next to him, all he could do was stare. The boy was watching the lake, laughing at something happening on the water, but he just couldn’t look away, “How the bloody hell did you get out this time?”

Harry laughed and finally looked away from the giant squid, who was showing off his best interpretive dance moves just off the shore, to his grandfather, “Well, if I told you that I couldn’t get away with it again.”

Opening his mouth, Albus wanted to tell him that he had no business sneaking out after the previous night and all the injuries he’d taken. The boy should be taking a three day snooze without complaint and downing pain potions for at least as long. Then he thought about what he’d seen that afternoon and the words simply couldn’t pass his lips. What right did he have to lecture Harry on anything or ever give him any form of advice? He just looked down at the sand.

The younger man stared at him, the guilt was radiating off of him in waves, and for a moment Harry was unsure of how to make it better. He could only suppose the first step would begin with acknowledgement, “You saw.”

“I did...I… Harry, I’m so sorry, it could never be en…”

“You are not, despite what everyone thinks, all knowing. You can’t even see the future, that’s blondie’s schtick.”

Albus couldn’t help it, a morbid laugh escaped him, “Your mother used to say that… alot.”

“I know,” seeing the red head’s confused look, he sat up a bit and pulled out his wallet. Retrieving a half bent envelope, Harry unfolded it and showed him the handwriting on the outside. The other man looked stricken and he raised an eyebrow, “I told Sirius I had it, did he not…?”

“No, no, he did. I just wasn’t expecting to see it.”

“Do you want to…”

“No! That was from your mother to you. It’s for you alone.”

Harry smiled and put it away again, “The Evans family loved my mother, she was their daughter. Any issues she had with Petunia during childhood never went past verbal resentment. I know that Grandpa Abby and Orion just wanted their daughter back, but Mom said you were the only one who understood that she was trying desperately to maintain two families after she found out that she was adopted.”

Albus stared at him as his grandson continued, the boy drawing something in the sand, “You never could have known what Petunia was capable of letting happen. In all honesty, she was just trying to keep what happened to me from happening to her and Dudley. I could have told you at any time and I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t part of the plan,” Harry told him and it sounded so much like Gellert, Albus glared slightly at the boy. Needing no explanation, the teenager laughed, “Sorry, but it’s true. I have been collecting a destroying the horcruxes since my second year.”

“How did you find out?”

“I asked you what that diary was in second year, when I didn’t get a good explanation I started doing research. Despite what my father has told you, I do read.”

Albus started to snicker, but then corrected himself, “That was also my fault.”

“No, it wasn’t. Man belongs in a lab inventing potions, not teaching kids, he doesn’t have the personality. He could have easily ignored me and taught the damn class, him choosing to be an asshat is not on you.”

“He loves you so much.”

“I can love him too, without rewarding piss poor behavior.”

“Oh, you certainly proved that this morning,” When he saw the boy’s eyebrows pull together he realized that Harry still didn’t know they had actually seen the fight and laughed, “We walked in on that little spat between you and Gellert at the end.”

Remembering the last thing he said, Harry went red as a tomato, “Sorry, I…”

“I can’t fault you for saying the truth, although a part of me will always protect you first. It’s just part of being a grandparent.”

“Fair enough,” Harry said, lying back in the sand relaxing, now that they seemed to be past the worst of the conversation.

“So, horcruxes, how did you find them, destroy them, and how many are left?”

“I would say just me, but my little helper hasn’t verified that yet. There are definitely five that we found and destroyed; the diary from my second year, the ring my third year, there was a lot going on this past year, so it was convenient that the diadem just happened to be in the Room of Requirement…”

Albus snorted at that, last year had been so very long.

“...Earlier this summer we broke into Gringotts, he’d given the cup to Bellatrix Lestrange.” Harry grinned, curiosity getting the better of him, “How upset was Newt Scammander when he found a dragon on his front yard?”

“He was fine, his wife was quite perturbed, however,” the Headmaster informed him, “I’m surprised you didn’t leave it for Hagrid, or Charlie Weasley.”

“Too close to home,” Harry explained the ideas away, “Regulus Black got the locket out of the cave and had it at Grimmauld place. The twins got it for me and we destroyed it on the way to Nurmengard last night.”

“And Nagini?”

“Well, like I said, unverified, but she was arranged to have a very unfortunate accident with a bird of prey with an attitude.”

“How did you destroy them? Much less find them all?”

“Well, I happened to know where some basilisk fangs were just lying around,” Harry told him.

The younger man had his eyes closed and seemed relaxed as he sunned himself, but Albus was very aware that he avoided the how of finding the dark objects. The Headmaster stared at him and thought for several minutes. Finally the obvious answer struck him, “You’ve been getting into my office. How?”

No sooner had he asked the Merlin damned question, then there was a shriek above them. It hadn’t occurred to Albus that Fawkes wasn’t around until the phoenix landed in front of him with a snake clutched in his talons, “Why you complete and utter fiery bast…”

Harry cut him off sitting up and shaking the sand from his hair, looking at the successful bird, “So, how was your night?”

The creature left the evidence of its betrayal on the shore and glided over to land on Harry’s shoulder. Albus watched as Harry pulled out a vial and the bird cried into it, “What is that?”

“Something to get rid of the horcrux in me,” Harry told him, giving the vial a brief swirl before going to down it. He was surprised when a hand grabbed his wrist, looking at his grandfather, he just raised an eyebrow, “Hey, I tried to finish this the old fashioned way last night. This is the alternative.”

“And if that had happened? What about the locket and snake?”

“You’re stalling.”

“Answer the question,” Albus hissed, not letting go of the boy’s wrist, he wasn’t sure if he could.

“I trusted Fawkes to find her and Neville and the twins already had the locket and my last basilisk fang,” Harry pushed the older man’s hand away with his own not holding the vial then downed the potion.

Albus was sure he was about to have a heart attack as Harry’s veins ran black and his eyes glowed green, not just his iris, but his entire eye. The fifteen year old collapsed and the older wizard rushed to grab him.

He was relieved to feel a heartbeat, but the boy wasn’t waking up either. 

Casting a quick diagnostic spell, the Headmaster realized that the boy’s magic had been unable to bear the strength of such a potion. He could only assume Harry genuinely forgot how low he actually was after… everything. Giving him a boost to get him back to stability, the teen’s own magic opening to his desperate, it only took a few minutes for Harry to wake up then, sick as a dog.

Fawkes hopped around them wanting to help, but unable to do so, seeing as there was not an injury to heal. Albus tried to calm the bird and helped Harry sit up, once there was nothing else left on his stomach. He banished everything from the shore besides his familiar and grandson, pulling him close, “It’s okay, you’re okay… And grounded.”

“Fair,” Harry said, the redhead pulled him to his feet.

“You had no business coming out here by yourself this low on magic. Or taking that potion.”

“I just forgot, a lot’s happened in the last eighteen hours,” Harry said about the second point, “But I didn’t come alone. The band is in the castle to… You know what, never mind, it’s best you don’t know.”

Albus raised an eyebrow at him, he’d hoped they were going to be honest with each other, now that he knew what Harry was really capable of and knew the boy was aware of his family.

“It’s not a Voldy thing; it’s a ‘dad would be proud’ thing.”

“Ahh, I do not need to know then. Let’s go collect them, I’ll bring you back,” he held onto the boy’s arm, mostly to make himself feel better, as they turned and headed for the castle. Fawkes called to him and he gave the bird a look, “I’m still not thrilled with you, but at least one of us knew what was happening.”

The phoenix took that as forgiveness and flew over to his human’s shoulder. Arriving at the entrance, they found Minverva McGonagall walking the band of merry pranksters from the castle. That was when Albus realized that his friend was in on whatever was happening without his knowledge. It was not as comforting as it should have been, that woman could be vicious. 

He brought the boys back to Grimmauld place, Harry having to side apparate with his grandfather because he was still dangerously low on magic. They were halted by a note from Draco on the window they’d snuck out.

Harry’s mate left it to alert them to the presence of several aurors, a Director for Security, and a previous Dark Lord in the living room, discussing the reparations for Sirius’ wrongful imprisonment, custody of one Harry James Potter, and the team being built to bring in Lord Voldemort. Apparently only Sirius and Remus had an excuse to be there; Mad-Eye and Kingsley were there as part of the ministry. So, everyone else in the order was huddled in the kitchen blocking their ability to use the back door.

“Alright, plan B,” Harry said, “So much for using this later.”

“You go up first, mate,” Neville instructed him, the twins already in a position to give him a boost.

“No, you,” Harry had to admit, his hand was still shaking, even though he magic was stable, “I don’t think I can pull me up, much less you.”

So Neville went through the window first, then Harry, Fred, and finally George. Albus had headed for the front door, hoping to cause enough of a distraction to get them upstairs, where everyone in the house thought they already were. It largely went off without a hitch with one exception. 

Gellert spotted the boys heading up the stairs, sensed Albus’ magic within their grandson, and crossed his legs with a devilish smirk, eyeing the Headmaster like he was considering selling him out. Once offering his explanation that he had only heard about Pettigrew’s arrest and wanted to ensure the wellbeing of Harry as his custody was decided, the fae sat down at the meeting. Once other eyes were off him, Albus flipped the siren off. 

He noted the man’s husband take in their bickering, although Percy hadn’t seen the boys sneaking in, but their mate only rolled his eyes at their antics.

Upstairs Draco collapsed on Fred’s bed when the boys walked into their room, having been pacing a hole in the floor, terrified they’d have gotten caught. Teddy and Capri had been down for a nap and, thank Merlin, hadn’t come into the room during their exile upstairs, to get his lie sold out. But every moment felt like a beat closer to their impending doom.

Harry hugged him, “Relax, it's over. Everything is fine, and I’m going to bed...for a week.”

“Eat first,” Neville told him, opening the snack compartment of his best mate’s trunk, “Or the magic depletion will only get worse.”

Harry wasn’t sure if he could, quite honestly, he’d never been this nauseous. He pulled his shirt off and pulled on a pair of pajama pants, getting hot as bloody hell from the nausea. Looking at his face in understanding the other boy opened his potions compartment and threw him something for the problem, before everyone started inhaling food.

The twins were hyped from their accomplishments in the castle, sad they wouldn’t be there to see everything go off, but McGonagall promised to give them the memory. Their fearless leader was unconscious before any of the others, although Neville was only slightly behind him. Draco was finishing his book and the twins were actually working on their business idea, now that they had all survived the last day, unable to settle down. 

About an hour later, the toddlers woke up from their nap and Teddy, who had not laid eyes on Harry since the daring rescue, crawled into the bed and sat on his godbrother like a cat who wanted attention. It was a testament to how exhausted the boy who lived was that he didn’t so much as flinch from the young boy sitting atop him, playing with his dragon. Capri had crawled onto her brother and demanded a story, the other blonde happily obliged, unsure how to motivate Teddy to do anything else. 

Fred and George, luckily, seemed to know what to do and told the boy to get a game out of Harry’s trunk, opening his entertainment compartment. The boy crawled down the bed and gazed in, looking at the different games and toys that Harry had. Seeing a new game called Owl Observations that he had not played yet, the boy crawled into the trunk, using Harry’s firebolt as leverage.

As he was trying to slide down, the small toddler hit the dampener that Harry had installed on the broom, the most powerful one made, and flipped it off, causing the firebolt to take off. Teddy started screaming no idea how to control the broom, jerking into different directions to barely miss hitting the door, wall, and stairway, finally getting toward the lower level, still out of control. Fred and George took off after him, hitting Neville awake, who followed them down the hall hollering after the toddler.

The adults all started to panic, no one sure how to stop the broom without injuring the toddler. Tonks was in hysterics, as was Remus, while Kingsley and Sirius attempted to slow the broom, but to no avail, it would not be stopped. Narcissa and Molly were horrified as they ran into the living area, the non-order ministry workers having left half an hour before, but neither knew how to stop the broom.

Kingsley said what they were all thinking on some level, “If there is no other way, he’s going to have to jump!”

“It’s going to fast, he’ll get hurt,” Remus called back.

Gellert watched as the screaming summoned Harry from his bedroom. Honestly, the most surprising part was that anything could rouse his grandson. He watched the teenager shove to the front of his friends, who were still at the top of the landing, roughly.

“Mother…” Harry started to curse before flinging himself over the top of banister, as Teddy started to circle the room again, about to come right by him at a blistering speed.

Sirius realized what the teen was about to do, right before Harry actually did it. It was a security measure he used to use on his broom as well during his Hogwarts days. His godson, barehanded, grabbed the broom and dug in, forcing it to come to a stop; damper spells like that were sealed by blood between a person and their broom.

“Kitty!” Teddy hollered, crying as he jumped from the broom into his godbrother’s other arm, crying his little heart out.

Harry grabbed him, but dropped the broom from his other hand, and hit his knees, afraid to look at the damage. This hurt far worse than the injury to his back and he didn’t remember getting his broken ribs.

“What the bloody hell was he doing near that thing?” Sirius demanded, Albus, Percival, and Gellert kneeling next to Harry, while Aberforth came up behind him.

“Don’t fucking ask me,” Harry growled, “I was asleep until the screaming started!”

“That’s very true,” Gellert said, “He clearly came in after everyone else.”

“Don’t look, Teddy,” Remus instructed his son, taking him from Harry.

Severus shook his head from behind Albus, “I’m out of every potion I normally carry for healing.”

“There’s more in my trunk,” Harry told them, Neville taking off to retrieve them.

“What happened?” Sirius demanded of the twins.

“He was asleep,” Fred said pointing to Harry.

“And he was sitting on him,” George gestured to Teddy.

“So, we thought, hey, distraction,”

“But whatever game he went for,”

“He crawled down and hit the broom damper,”

“And off he went,” they finished together. 

Molly went to yelling at them for being careless, while the adults tried to keep Harry from focusing on the injury.

Albus shook his head at his grandson, who was shaking even worse than before, “Can’t you just take a day off? Sleep in, pull a prank, eat a lot…”

“I’ll remind you, you said that,” Harry gasped as a healing potion was poured directly onto his hand. He went, more than willingly, to hide his face in Gellert’s neck, “Fuck, fuckity, fuck, fucker.”

“He definitely picked up that word from you,” Albus pointed out to the only American in the bunch.

Percival rolled his eyes at the redhead, but he could not deny it. He noticed that Harry was shaking terribly once again, “Fuck all…”

“See,” the Headmaster pointed out.

“Shut up, Albus,” Aberforth instructed his brother.

“G, you’re going to have to give him a boost,” Percival ignored the brothers, “He’s bottoming out, again, and worse than before.”

“You are rapidly running out of relatives who can pour endless amounts of magic into you, my boy,” the ex-Dark Lord told his grandson, lifting his face to perform the spell.

Harry looked down, his nausea returning as soon as it was done, “And I’m not sure my stomach can handle any more either.”

His hand was still on fire and was the most painful thing he’d ever experienced. Seeing him getting consumed, Aberforth changed the subject, “I see why you were covering for him, now.”

Percival took a moment before realizing what his best friend had seen, “I’m sure you would have been a real peach if you’d seen it last night.”

“What?” Gellert asked them, although Albus was already looking over Harry’s shoulder trying to see.

“His tattoo,” Percy told him.

Seeing Albus pinch the bridge of his nose, the blonde quickly stood up a bit to see his grandson’s back. 

Emblazoned from an inch below the mighty cut on Harry’s back, all the way down to the top of his pajama pants was a massive tattoo. In the middle and taking up the most room was the deathly hallows symbol, but it was unique. The entire thing was made up of interlocking animals. 

The six notches of the wand were made up of a stag, doe, spider, black dog, wolf, and weasel. On the top of the stone were a raven, phoenix, a bald eagle, and a augurey, while on the bottom half was a lion, snake, eagle, and badger. The top animal of the cloak was an american lion, and directly below it were a white dragon and white rabbit, while the bottom right corner was a kodiak bear, and the left held two red foxes with interlocking tails. Filling in the rest of the cloak along the sides were a white owl, a unicorn, an acromantula, a basilisk, and a hungarian horntail dragon. 

Above and below the symbol’s start were the words that hung across Macusa’s entryway to the auror department for almost a century. The top said “The Rules Are the Same, As They Always Were”, and the bottom said “Presence of Thought & Peace of Mind”.

“Well, I guess if you three are having to eat your influences, I can too,” Aberforth said, “Go ahead and tell them what song you were singing last night. It’s gonna come out eventually.”

“Oro Se Do Bheatha Bhaile,” Harry offered in a fight me like tone to suggest the way he’d sung it and a perfect accent, as his hand started to heal and hurt slightly less.

“Oh thank Merlin,” Albus said, looking at Gellert, “I never thought I was going to hear the end of this from the brat.”

“Who are you telling? I deage and make a deal to be with you idiots, only to have to hear his mouth for the next century?” Gellert said, “I was going back to prison.”

“I hate you both,” Aberforth told them.

“I say,” Percy stage whispered to Harry, “You transfer to Ilvermorny and we catch the next portkey to the states.”

That made Harry laugh.

It did not amuse Sirius, Remus, or Severus, who all shot jinxes at the Director. Albus, Aberforth, and Gellert all glared at the dark haired man, also not liking the joke, mostly because they were all nervous he was going to head back for the states as soon as the excitement stopped.

“I’ll settle for eight hours of sleep and not being exciting for a day,” Harry told all of them.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Aberforth warned, “Runs in the family.”


	3. How Bad This Could've Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is only one rule of the piper; someone always pays. So, when Harry survives his master plan and it's time for the family’s communication to come due… They all have mixed feelings about the endeavor.

After the broom incident, the clock had struck eight, and, feeling a bit like Cinderella, Harry went to la la land with a pain potion and Draco cuddling into his side, risking certain death for both of them. Before collapsing, he had finally managed to send a note to Luna through Hedwig, the owl taking off to give the blonde fae the assurance that he, Draco, and the band were all alive and well. It would be the first time they’d communicated since his last letter, in which he’d confessed everything that was going to happen, right before the Order of the Phoenix arrived in the Dursleys’ house, including the chance that he might die. 

He was not looking forward to the ass kicking she was bound to give him.

Realizing he probably should have warned Albus Dumbledore that his other mate was one of Newt Scamander’s grandchildren, Harry got over it quickly. Damn, if that was the only thing to slip his mind concerning yesterday, everyone would just get over it.

His dreams were fairly pleasant. He wasn’t used to that often but surrounding himself with real friends, and mates, apparently helped a lot. The line between dreams and visions were blurred on the best of nights, usually he could only tell the difference between the two when a dreaded sense of deja vu struck him mid-experience. 

Still, the image of the adults in his family sitting around and enjoying each other’s company almost seemed too good to be true, so it was probably a dream. The idea of Remus agreeing to come back as a teacher was definitely a fantasy after Sirius and Remus’ reactions to him living at the Dursleys; according to Neville’s grandmother, McGonagall wasn’t happy about the information either, but hadn’t been as outraged as the Marauders.

When he came back to reality, his stomach was groaning so loudly that in was painful, and his body was on fire. Harry wasn’t really sure how figurative it was. The world had spun since he got back from Hogwarts, even before Teddy got trapped on his firebolt, and he wasn’t sure how to make it stop.

The twins were working on their eavesdropping ears by the window, Neville was using Harry’s divination homework to copy, and Draco was reading on the bed next to him, “What time is it?”

The blonde looked down at the pocket watch his father had given to him when Harry was sneaking off to Hogwarts the day before, “7:34pm, you’ve slept for almost twenty-four hours; that’s impressive even for you.”

“Not from where I lay dying,” Harry groaned, hauling himself up using the headboard.

Draco snorted, “I think that’s the only thing you didn’t manage yesterday, thank Merlin.”

“Has anyone been up here?”

“My father has checked in every other hour like clockwork,” the blonde confirmed, “From what I’ve seen, he’s taken the even hours while Professor Lupin takes the odd.”

“Call him that to his face,” Harry said, “The outrage will be fantastic.”

“Shut up,” Draco instructed. 

He was still adjusting. He had grown up with secret bedtime stories about the legendary Order of the Phoenix from his mother and to suddenly have so many of those people around him, to be in their headquarters, it had been a lot to take in. He looked at his mate, running a hand through the bedhead of unruly curls, “How are you feeling?”

“Well, the death comment wasn’t too far off,” Harry said, gladly dropping the glamours for a few minutes.

The other boys all shot Neville a dirty look for keeping that secret. 

The Longbottom felt terrible, but Harry had convinced him that it was for the best, just like he’d convinced the others to go along with the previous night. His weapons of choice were sound logic and eternal charisma. Draco had been somewhat understanding; he at least came from a bad situation, so he knew what it was like to have to make due with unfortunate circumstances, sick as the necessity was. 

Harry moved quickly to defend his best friend, “Stop it. I didn’t tell anyone, that’s on me.”

The twins on the other hand were outraged that Neville didn’t tell them. Or, more importantly, any adult. It was clear why Harry hadn’t told them; they would have gone screaming for their mother.

The Longbottom heir wasn’t going anywhere private with the twins for a while. Not until they stopped glaring at him every time Harry didn’t have a shirt on. Neville didn’t need the stress.

“Just remember you promised to tell Sirius at the very least,” Fred reminded the younger teen.

“And technically your twenty-four hours are already up,” George continued.

“But we’ve made an exception on account of sheer exhaustion.”

“Thank you for your benevolence,” Harry muttered as a cramp spasmed through his back, “I had this dream of Remus coming back to teach at Hogwarts.”

“Dream or vision?” Neville asked him.

“Knowing our luck with teachers,” Draco hissed, “I think it’s safe to call it a dream.”

“He wouldn’t take it even if... Dumbledore offered,” Harry wasn’t sure why he stumbled, over the name. He thought about it for a second and realized that he wasn’t sure what to call the man anymore, now that their relation had been broadcasted to everybody.

The other boys glared at him, “Oh I think the old man can make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

“We deserve the one decent teacher we’ve had in the field back.”

Harry shook his head, “Yeah, but it’s a principle. Apparently Remus thought Sirius was innocent at first and Dumbledore convinced him it was impossible. I’ve never actually heard the whole story, but I know Remus quit third year when he found out that Sirius had been innocent all along.”

“Okay, fine, it’s a principle,” Neville conceded, “But I’d still conk him on the head if he said no and stuck us with some asshole for another year.”

“If the Headmaster offers and he tries to refuse,” Harry assured, “We’ll stuff him in a sack and he’ll wake up on the Hogwarts Express. Please, let’s just go find food and pain relief.”

The band stumbled down the hall, Harry dragging along behind them. Every step on the stairs made his head feel like it was going to all but fall off in the spirit of Nearly Headless Nick. When he reached the floor below and the clock struck eight, the boy who lived hit his knees trying desperately to cover his ears to block some of the noise. He felt something press to his lips and let a potion be poured down his throat hoping for any form of relief or death, which ever could get there first.

By the time his mind silenced enough to process the noises of the surrounding world, Harry was still kneeling at the bottom of the stairs. His Grandpa Gellert and Sirius were on both sides of him, veins running black, as they held his hands and used siren magic to remove the volume of everyone else. He spotted his vampire father only a few feet away, still clutching an empty vial that he had to guess was a pain potion based on the taste that was just beginning to register in his mouth.

“What was that?” He demanded.

“Well, as you might recall, you came into your full siren inheritance just a few weeks ago,” Sirius reminded him, “One of the worst things you can do around this time is drain your magic since it’s already hyper aware of certain things.”

“In most sirens, you’d want to avoid loud or personally annoying sounds,” the Dark Lord elaborated.

“Oh, sure, you tell me this now,” Harry muttered but let the two men haul him up and move him toward his Grandpa Graves and the sofa the vampire was sitting on. 

“Well, since you can’t use magic outside of Hogwarts,” Sirius reminded, “I thought I’d have time to warn you. We see how poorly that plan got rolled out.”

There were entirely too many people in this room making annoying sounds, such as breathing or heartbeats that were definitely louder than they needed to be. Harry couldn’t seem to drown the noise out. 

His Grandpa Abby was sitting in one of two recliners by the fireplace, the one beside him was where Sirius returned once Harry got settled. In one corner of the room was a small round table with chairs; he spotted Professor McGonagall sitting there with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and his father rejoined them. Narcissa, Tonks, Remus, and Albus Dumbledore were perched on some of the stools at the wet bar in the opposite corner from McGonagall’s table. 

Harry collapsed willingly across his grandcarrier’s lap, grateful that the vampire neither had a heartbeat nor breathed until the teen got the rest of his barings back. He was glad that his friends, along with the additions of Teddy and Capri, wandered off into the kitchen for a few minutes, needing the fuel that thoughts of suddenly turned his young Peverell stomach. 

By the time he felt human enough to join the conversation around him, one arm was still trying to keep light from crossing his vision. Hedwig had come in with Luna’s reply and his bottom half was strewn across the second most notorious Dark Lord ever, while his head stayed in his Grandpa Percy’s lap. Harry listened to the adults quite discussion of the Ministry’s reparation efforts.

Albus didn’t know why he was expecting anything different when he glanced over to Gellert. 

The blonde was still helping Harry dampen the world’s racket with a black veined hand on the teen’s ankle, like it was the most normal thing in the world. It should have been. As cool as muggle borns often thought magical inheritances were, some days they sucked.

And it suddenly struck him, just then, that their grandson had known who Albus was from the time he turned eleven thanks to Lily. And as Harry had already pointed out to the headmaster, the Potter did read; probably in the library late at night and under the invisibility cloak, if how far he’d go to keep his secrets was any indication, but he did. If the boy had been introduced to him by Lily’s letter, and heard his name, perhaps vague mentions of his most popular accomplishments by other children that age, then who could Albus really expect the second name to come up around his own to be?

Gellert had boasted so many times that no matter how he tried, Albus would never be able to keep their names apart in history. It was something that both the Headmaster and Percy had in common despite never acknowledging one another. The fae heard of how hard it was for the vampire to convince people of his honest dedication to justice despite his love for their mate. Now, all Albus could picture was their eleven year old grandson in the library, with him mere minutes away, trying to put the pieces together and connect their family from articles by people like Rita Skeeter. 

He had never hidden his fondness for Harry, but the boy must have felt instantly that he couldn’t be trusted with his true intelligence, as Albus could admit that he’d been so relieved to think that Harry took after James’ relaxed nature. James hadn’t really grown into a man until he joined the aurors in the states under Percival’s tutelage. That had been after having two alpha sirens coming into their peaks began to fray his and Sirius’ relationship, with them both trying to work at the ministry and competing for the first time in their lives. 

Just as his father before him commuting to the states for work had been a relief, Albus was also relieved thinking that he had until Harry was seventeen. The Headmaster had only wanted to protect and shield his grandson until then. He’d convinced himself to buy into the image of dumbluck when Harry survived lethal encounter after lethal encounter with some of the most dangerous men on the planet.

Now there sat Hedwig, perched on Harry’s leg, which was thrown over the arm of one of Grimmauld Place’s couches, happy to let the seer remove her letter for Harry. The teen’s bottom half was strown over Gellert’s lap, while the teen’s bum rested on the cushion in the middle, and his top half was draped across Percy, who was stroking his hair. 

Harry looked utterly miserable as he nursed a migraine and aching body, arm thrown across his eyes. The older seer was petting the snowy owl who was clearly familiar with him and suddenly all the questions Albus should have been asking for years were slapping him in the face, “When did you two start communicating?”

He hadn’t drawn too much attention to himself in the last couple months, so every adult’s eyes locked on him in an instant.

Harry even lifted his arm to look at him, but upon realizing to whom his grandfather was referring, snorted and rolled his eyes before replacing it, “Forgive me if I’ve already incriminated myself enough for one lifetime. You’re up!”

Gellert rolled his eyes, “He wrote to me Christmas of his first year; you at the same time, I believe?”

“Yes,” Percy confirmed but did not elaborate. He found their grandson’s covered face suddenly the most fascinating in the room and Albus was curious to know what the man was putting together. 

But more so about what his own mind was now dying to know, “Did you know what was happening?”

Gellert stared into the fire, knowing Albus meant anything about the last forty-eight hours, but an honest answer was, perhaps, more complicated. The only other person in the room who could know that chortled and he pinched the teen’s thigh in retaliation before attempting an answer, “I met him during his second year; he came to me having a panic attack after the Granger girl was found incapacitated with information about Basilisks in her hand and knowing that he’d been hearing voices in the walls. I helped him, it wasn’t hard to put together parseltongue and Voldemort from that information if he knew what we did. I gave it to him not thinking because…”

Albus could tell that the blonde was frustrated because he sighed, as his hand on Harry’s ankle tightened in a show of that frustration, before the siren rubbed his forehead with his other hand and continued, “The next thing I know, I’m getting a letter saying he had to subdue a basilisk and a piece of Tom Riddle’s soul. He may not have had a word for it yet, but I just put two and two together because I knew you both would. It was common sense if you looked into his parents’ murder’s background and I hadn’t actually  _ just _ met him after Granger was attacked...”

“I thought...?” the Headmaster demanded, trying to keep his facts straight.

“Come on, Albie, we’d been sharing multiple letters a day for a year,” Gellert reminded him, “I was the only one around besides you, since he wasn’t old enough to drink yet!”

Aberforth offered a rude gesture over his chair.

“That was just the first time he snuck to Nurmengard. He already wrote like Lily, then he showed up and talked like Lily. He was starting to branch out from Granger and the little Weasley because he was more comfortable in this world and was getting to know others,” Gellert thought back on the last couple of years, stroking Harry’s ankle, “He’d had a year to learn who his parents were, had excellent big brothers in the twins, from what I could gather, and was starting to learn more about his family. I thought for sure...”

“I had it under control,” Albus finished for him.

“So, when he closed out that letter saying he was with Fawkes and was about to go to your office, but was fine,” Gellert snorted, head falling back onto the sofa to stare at the ceiling, “Then he disappeared for the weekend and came back talking about horcruxes and diaries and phoenixes, I just assumed you had it more under control; he sure wasn’t panicked. His attitude was pleasantly intrigued, if anything. I had no reason to think otherwise.”

Then Percy gave a dead chuckle, eyes still locked on their grandson, but his words were directed at the fae, “I was so used to you ignoring me, but it never even registered that you might do it to him. That the little shit would use it to his advantage. He wanted to stay at Hogwarts with you and Severus for Christmas, other holidays he was with the Weasleys or he’d mention Lily’s family. Admittedly, I thought he meant the Blacks, until this summer…” 

The Director couldn’t believe what the fifteen year old had managed simply because they all weren’t comparing notes. He sighed and moved on, “I was fairly sure he was sneaking off to Nurmengard as often as he and Gellert talked, and Abby had caught him sneaking to Hogsmeade with the twins, Draco, and Neville once a week before that second Christmas! I was the farthest away so it made sense that we didn’t talk as much and there was no reason to think that you idiots didn’t have it under control!”

“You knew he was sneaking out and you didn’t say anything?” Albus glared at the back of his brother’s head from the bar.

Aberforth didn’t bother to turn to face the redhead, he just gave a vague gesture over his head, “In my defense, he was walking into my bar. I could tell with one look he knew who I was. They were twelve, if they threw up a silencing barrier I just thought they wanted privacy.”

The barman gave a gesture to Sirirus and Remus, “They snuck out all the time, so I assumed he’d get in a little trouble, but the next generation just needed to prove they could do it. James was his father, I was prepared for the worst, but you’d survived the Marauders generation, so I genuinely thought…”

“...I had it under control,” Albus finished for him. He was noticing a pattern.

“Do you have any idea how badly this could’ve gone?” Percival finally demanded of his grandson.

Harry moved his arm and faced his grandcarrier, tensing as the vampire’s voice raised, but he didn’t balk. Albus was impressed, as he’d seen hardened aurors cower before that look in the middle of courtrooms for years. Then again, most hardened aurors also weren’t willing to have screaming matches with Gellert Grindelwald with no fear of the consequences, he supposed. 

“Since your second year?” Narcissa finally demanded of her son, picking Capri up as she wandered back over to the bar from the kitchen.

Draco sighed from his place in the door frame, where the band stood close behind him, “I knew being friends with you idiots was going to come back to bite me in the arse… Okay, Mum, I can explain.”

“Oh Merlin, you did take after me,” Sirius muttered from their recliners as Aberforth busted out laughing.

Draco grimaced under his mother’s glare, her sharp eyebrow raised in an icy show of anger that demanded he make good on his word and attempt some form of explanation. So, he tried to think of how to explain the last two years. There was so much to it all.

Thinking back on Harry discovering him, hysterical and disheveled in the bathroom on the second floor, when he first got sucked into their family’s drama, the blonde Black family heir pointed at his godfather, “He changed the curriculum to have us brew heritage potions in our second year; it’s really his fault if you think about it! My backside was just trying to survive as a lion in the serpent’s pit until I got absorbed into these Gryffindor yahoos Yule of my second year! It is not my fault, Mum.”

“Oh Great Merlin, you’re one of them,” Narcissa cursed under her breath. She’d hoped Draco’s roguish outbursts were just a trait from Sirius and not a sign of something deeper, but the worst case scenario was upon them. Her son was a Gryffindor, like his father before him.

“I am so sorry, Cissy,” Severus offered the apology sincerely.

All the adults blatantly refused to laugh as Minerva moved up to Albus and slid several galleons into his hand, “You said it wasn’t Harry the hat meant was a misplaced lion.”

“I did,” Albus agreed and winked at the teens who grinned. He may not have been paying enough attention to them in the last four years, but he wasn’t completely blind either, “He’s the Gryffindor heir, ye of little faith; you should be ashamed.”

“Oh take your pureblood prophecies and shove them,” the woman instructed with a smile, “You and your stupid lion’s legacy.”

“Oh that reminds me,” Albus told her, “You should ask your new Quidditch captain about his animagus form.”

“Don’t sugarcoat your blasmephy,” Harry hissed at the man, “If you’re going to punish me just get it over with, no reason to dally.”

Sirius grinned as his adoptive mother palmed a vial of some sort to Neville, disguised as some sort of conciliatory gesture in reference to the lost bet, before reclaiming her seat at the small table. He could only imagine what the woman and Gryffindors were up to, if they were sneaking memories back and forth; the marauders hadn’t gotten caught up in anything that serious with the woman until James became headboy their last year. The animagus made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Narcissa rolled her eyes, “Why didn’t you tell me you knew?”

“I don’t think you’re acknowledging how precarious our friendship was at the time,” Draco informed his mother, “You were pregnant with Capri and he was guilty as sin for all any of us knew at twelve. For the first year of our relationship they didn’t want me dead at best, and Harry was the  _ only  _ reason the other three were giving me that much of a chance.”

“That makes us sound much more intimidating than we’ve ever been in our lives…”

“...I’m still not fond of it.”

“Me neither,” Neville assured the twins

“Oh please,” Draco made a vague gesture toward Harry, “You three think he’d be in danger and you’d give the guy from Psycho a run for his money.”

“Like you wouldn’t?” The twins chorused.

“Don’t try and make this about me,” the blonde instructed the two.

“Why isn’t everything?” All three shot back loudly.

“Alright,” Harry cut them off his voice a dark void that sounded like it would consume anything and everything in its path, “The next person to raise their voice, is dead as a fucking doornail. I will survive all this shit and still be the next person in this family to end up in prison.”

All the teens looked equally guilty as the glazed look in Harry’s eyes got worse once more. Narcissa could tell he was disorientated and she wouldn’t go back to that first month after turning fifteen for anything. Sirius and James had been wrecks until the spinning stopped a month after each came into their siren inheritance. 

“Even Alastor had to acknowledge the auror report said he was given veritaserum and confessed,” Gellert hated himself a little more as he forced most to admit that fact, even just to themselves, “None of us suspected Sirius could possibly be innocent; no one knew about the switch or the leak.”

“Which reminds me,” Percy’s voice was icy like death itself as he looked up from Harry, who scattered to get across the sofa to Gellert as the hissed voice rung in his ears. 

It hadn’t done him any harm really, but his calm and comforting grandcarrier turning into a pissed parent startled the empathy that accompanied being part fae, even before his full inheritance from it kicked in at seventeen. If this was how sound was magnified from being part siren, he was already dreading that birthday from an emotional standpoint. The boy who lived, he actually felt like he’d done something to earn the title now at the very least, perched on the arm Hedwig quickly vacated, to put distance between himself and the Director. 

Gellert chuckled, his hand finding the teen’s shoulder to give it a squeeze in reassurance, as the boy’s legs remained draped over his lap from his new position on the sofa’s arm, Harry’s feet digging into the previous Dark Lord’s thigh. Percy was a sight to behold when he was angry, given it wasn’t directed at you, and the seer was in no way surprised to see Sirius already had his face held miserably in his hands. By the time the teen was repositioned out of harm’s way and the vampire soared up to his full height, Gellert was feeling sympathy for the Black Lord already.

“What were you thinking! My gods! You let them live under the false pretense that the spell was cast, with you as the secret keeper, for a year and a half! What the hell were you and James doing?!”

“It wasn’t supposed to go wrong,” Sirius whispered.

“Oh I’m sure it wasn’t, Morgana knows you and James and your shared brain, you never felt the need to tell anyone anything! Just because you could read each other’s minds doesn’t mean the rest of us could! Then you and Lily’s magic twinned too, after your fourth year, and you three thought you could do everything yourselves.”

“I can only imagine where that lot get it from!” He paused momentarily from his pacing in front of Sirius’ chair by the fireplace to gesture at the five teens, “I mean what was the point? Letting us think you’d had it cast for that long? We thought they were safe, nothing had gone wrong for a year and a half!”

Percy sighed, remembering those days, “Maybe James and Lily were going stir crazy only able to visit Hogwarts and Nurmengard for that long, but they were safe, Sirius! What happened? Why would you have possibly decided to cast it that night and make Peter the secret keeper all of a sudden? It’s almost like you actually knew that…”

Harry had waited over a year to hear this story but suddenly his stomach turned and he wasn’t sure that he wanted to know. He felt Draco move up behind him. They both had a morbid sense of curiosity that few understood, it was how they had put together enough from his grandfather’s scattered memories to find the horcruxes with Fawkes’ help. Still, the dark haired teen knew that didn’t make listening to the story of how their parents’ lives fell apart any easier for the blonde either. 

“What in Hel’s name were you and James up to?” Percival finally demanded of the boy that was like another son to him.

“It wasn’t supposed to go wrong,” Sirius repeated, more clearly this time, knowing his family deserved the whole truth, “We knew Peter was the leak in the order and that there was a leak in my department. Nothing changed from when we hadn’t cast it, to when we did…”

Sirius looked over at his uncle. They hadn’t really had a heart to heart since he came back to Europe where Aberforth had been hiding him out in the Caribbean, “Lily figured out how to do it from your articles. We let Peter, and everyone else, believe it was already in place with me. Then, we… I cast it with him, we made him feel like he was in the know about us never having done it before, so he would trust us enough to tell us about Voldemort blackmailing him.”

Unable to resist Sirius look over toward Harry, “We only did it on Halloween, that night before dinner. Making him the keeper was supposed to make him feel safe enough to tell us. Then I left, so James could work on Peter; I went to a bar the block over. He was supposed to send a patronus if Peter left so that I could tail him… None of us were expecting Peter to take their wands.”

Harry had spent the better part of his childhood trying to suppress his memory of the night his parents died, but suddenly all of it made so much more sense. His dad screaming for his mom to get him out of there, his mom looking for something that wasn’t there in his nursery, before realizing that the emergency portkey was gone. If Peter took their wands and broke the protective charm, he’d already disclosed the emergency portkey to the terrorist. 

Voldemort probably just summoned his toy stag, specifically picked because baby Harry had always clung to the animal anyway, and took the portkey out of the equation. It all happened so fast, once Peter walked out into the dark holiday night with their wands. 

Gellert grabbed his grandson’s shaking hand, while Draco carefully put his hands on the other boy’s shoulders.

“I felt the magic break because I was the one who cast it under Lily’s instructions. But, it seemed to everyone like I was the secret keeper; I realize that now. I ran back and I saw James and just collapsed; I heard you upstairs.”

Severus nodded, tears in his eyes, “I had gotten a promise from him, sealed with magic, I’d told Lily about it. If she couldn’t get away, couldn’t make a run for it, she knew that was her last chance to protect Harry. I felt them fade and ran for the house. I… Hagrid got there and told me Albus had somewhere safe for Harry. I was… and didn’t even ask where… I’m so sorry.”

It took Harry a moment too long to realize the apology was directed at him. He stared back at his father, honestly unsure of how he felt at the moment. Some part of him had been researching ways to get rid of the Dark Mark for the man for years, but he would not excuse years of bad behavior, of elected ignorance, especially thirteen years of it, either. His father had been well aware of Petunia and his mother’s tense relationship at best, if anyone should have been asking serious questions... but they all thought he’d been growing up with Andromeda Black from what he understood now. 

Still, that night, by itself, well… He was shaking over it and he’d been an infant, how much could he have been expecting from a couple of twenty year olds the night their mates and siblings were murdered. He nodded, sincerely accepting the apology for what it was, although he still had questions about why everyone thought he’d been with Tonks’ mother, even if they could wait for later.

“I saw red,” Sirius continued, voice still quivering. “Not right away, we weren’t the youngest Head Aurors since Theseus Scamander for crumbling in a crisis. I started casting tracking charms for Peter, when I saw Hagrid leaving with Harry. I knew Severus would make sure James and Lily were taken care of.”

Narcissa listened closely to his story as Sirius looked over at Graves, “I tried to get Harry from Hagrid; I was going to run to the states and you. With the leak in my department I thought that would be safer for him. Then Hagrid told me he was going to Albus and I realized what everyone must think... I knew I’d have to have Peter, living or dead, to prove what we’d done. That’s when I saw red at what he’d let happen but he knew it too.”

“And that’s how easily yesterday could have gone wrong,” Percival pointed out, “That is how badly that could have gone! Do you realize what could have happened?”

Harry quickly met his eyes, knowing the remark was directed at him, as the vampire shifted his unwavering gaze from Sirius to his grandson. The Director just stared at him for several long moments; like he was trying to figure out something. The teen wasn’t sure what it was, he’d shown all his cards, as far as he was aware, over the last day. 

“Years ago, when you first started writing to us, your Grandpa Gellert had this vision of the two of you,” He gestured to Albus, “Talking by the lake. He told me that he was deaged and you seemed perfectly content, like it was a normal conversation. I mean according to the vision, you were laughing at the squid, he was yelling at Bird Brain for hunting some snake, and you were casually using his powerful magical familiar for a potion and talking about horcruxes, of all things, while telling him not to worry about a prank... It really set the stage for how close we thought you two were for the last three years; especially after the diary incident your second year.”

“Ahh fuck,” Harry muttered.

Neville came up beside Draco and squeezed the shoulder the blonde had released, “It was nice knowing you, mate.”

“I despise the day you were born,” Harry reminded him, earning a giggle from his best friend and a snort from Sirius and Remus. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Aberforth demanded of his best friend, gesturing to his deaged brother, “He just did that a week ago.”

Percival grimaced with the knowledge that the conversation hadn’t happened at least a couple months ago, he’d assumed perhaps around the end of the tournament, when he saw Albus looking forty-something the night before. After all, G had said that Harry looked to be around fourteen in the vision, “Alright, my original question still stands; what did you not want us to know about Lily’s muggle relatives, now that we know you were actually living with them and not just visiting? In addition, when the fuck have you been to Hogwarts in the last week?”

Harry stared at the man, the sight of his mouth obscured by the index finger over his upper lip, as he contemplated how to play this. Sirius caught the boy glancing over at him, then to his other side and Gellert. The ex-fugitive looked at Severus in confusion, but found the man forlorn at the table with Minnie and the Weasleys. 

Glancing around the room, their Headmaster sat at the bar his eyes securely locked on the ground, wringing his hands that were braced on his knees. When James’ mate moved to hold his face in his hands, mirroring how Sirius had felt minutes before, the Black Lord realized suddenly that the damage might be worse than he’d been expecting all summer. His concern suddenly grew for why his sister had never brought up much mention of her adoptive muggle sibling. 

His gaze returned to his nephew and godson, to find Harry tilting back slightly, his head leaning from his spot on the couch’s arm, toward Neville and Draco at his back.

“I don’t see a way around this.”

“There’s not,” Neville confirmed.

“About time if you ask me,” Draco hissed, “You’d never even shown that to me!”

“Or us!” The twins chorused, although it sounded more like growls to the adults.

Harry, realizing that it was him and Neville against this room of hot heads, looked back at his grandcarrier, “Promise me you’re not gonna let anyone do anything that would wind them up back in prison.”

“I promise,” Percy assured, ever gentle and steady with his grandson. 

Gellert instantly heard the silent thought in the vampire’s mind that the promise didn't keep him from earning a place in Azkaban himself. From the way Remus handed Teddy to his mother at the bar, before the wizard moved to stand behind Sirius’ chair with his arms crossed and lips pursed, the previous Dark Lord was sure the werewolf had the same thought. 

But Harry was upset enough and no good would come from pointing the faulty logic out. He’d waited over two years to find out this information, knowing that Percy’s badgering in their letters wasn’t going to make the teen break before he was ready. Also, if his mate didn’t have a chance in hell from stopping the Dark Lord if Lily’s muggle relatives had done real damage to the boy, Gellert wasn’t going to point that out either.

He shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was, given that thought, when the boy stood up and turned to him first. It struck the seer suddenly that, if Albus hadn’t had things under control, even stuck in Nurmengard, his psychic ass should have. He hadn’t demanded any more of Harry than the Headmaster in the last four years. The boy took a deep breath and Gellert was suddenly reminded of the trials that came with earning Credence’s trust back in the twenties. He schooled his face quickly to be blank, knowing that if he showed any signs of reaction, Harry would only shut down and panic. 

Everyone was standing behind the dark teen, as he carefully pulled his button up pajama shirt apart, and showed something to his grandfather. Sirius stared at the seer’s face for any hint of what was being revealed, all the adults surprised to feel Harry release some form of wandless magic from himself. The Black Lord rose to his feet, arms reflexively crossing to match Graves, as he stood at the vampire’s shoulder. He wanted to rush forward, demand answers, but Harry looked as skittish as Lily, that day in fourth year after they brewed heritage potions for Slughorn the first time; he didn’t want to risk seeing the same terror in Harry’s eyes that he’d seen when his sister looked at him for the first time, if he pushed too hard.

Percival saw the hard look come into his husband’s eyes and didn’t ask nicely before using legilimency to see what the blonde was looking at. Harry wasn’t looking at him, so there was no reason to stop his hand from flying to his mouth in horror, his body turning toward Albus’ direction seeing red. There were scars all over his great grandson’s torso, old and faded, but twisted and deep scars that spoke to a sort of abuse no child should ever endure. The worst of them was the word ‘freak’ carved over his belly button, that the Director saw his seer trace a hand over, before the vampire turned on the fae headmaster enraged. 

He honestly wasn’t sure what he would have done if he hadn’t turned to find Sirius between them. He could tell the younger man hadn’t done it intentionally, as the current head of the Black family was still staring at G’s unreadable expression trying to figure out what was happening. Still, if no one had gotten between him and Albus...

When he realized that the vampire froze at his presence, Sirius followed Graves’ gaze behind himself, to where the Director was glaring daggers through Albus Dumbledore’s skull. Turning back around all the younger man did was raise an eyebrow at the vampire. The animagus was curious to know what their deal was now.

Knowing he couldn’t reveal Harry’s secret to Sirius, the boy deserved that much respect from his family to be able to disclose this himself, Percival hissed with extended fang at the redhead and collapsed into the chair his surrogate grandson had vacated next to Aberforth.

The younger Dumbledore sighed, knowing this was going to be bad, as he glanced into his brother’s mind for what was happening. Vampires, much like werewolves, had struggled with being labelled dark creatures for generations in magical communities. Percival was so used to pretending that his vampire embodiment and senses weren’t there, the show of irritation meant that he was beyond pissed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Aberforth wondered if this shit show was about to turn into him having to defend Albus from Percival, the way his big brother had tried to defend Abby from Gellert the day Ariana died.

“Hmm,” Gellert finally started, finger still tracing the ‘k’ as he processed the information, “Is that why your seer abilities frightened you so much?”

The question caused Albus’ head to shoot up, “You’re a seer?”

“Yes,” was all Harry offered to both. 

“Hmm,” Gellert thought about the information again, his voice soothing to Harry’s ringing ears, “Sirius, Severus, come over here.”

Harry tensed. He’d known it was coming, he had. Still, being vulnerable to Severus Snape was not high on his priority list and Sirius was a proven hot head. He’d faced down two Dark Lords, although in different ways, in the last couple of days, but this was the first moment that he’d been afraid since he stood on that stage inviting his death. The boy who lived saw his grandfather’s hand go up in the typical halt gesture and he glanced up quickly to meet the other seer’s black and white eyes, realizing the man was making them stop so that it was once again his decision who knew. 

He’d known this was inevitable once Grandpa Graves and Sirius were able to compare notes, he had known that since his third year. Once his Grandpa Abby released Sirius from intensive rehabilitation at whatever tropical island home Orion Black owned, Harry knew that Graves would be the next person Sirius would go to for answers, and once that happened, the two of them would have him figured out within one conversation. And wham, bam, here he was in the middle of his first vision ever, living the fact that his father had been right in James Potter’s own secret letter; if the chips were ever down Gellert Grindelwald would always protect his grandsons from anyone, even the rest of their family. 

He’d been preparing for this for over a year, since Sirius explained his innocence, the tournament being restarted buying him an extra year to find and destroy the horcruxes, before Voldie crawled his arse back to life and Harry had known he was about to have to answer to his family. With his grandcarrier coming back to Europe to defend him after the incident with Dudley and the Dementor, Harry had known that he was out of time in the Potter and Black Lords being apart, and he was prepared for them to find out. He was, this was it, it was fine; he nodded at the other seer to let his father and godfather come over. 

Neither reacted well.

Severus immediately turned toward the kitchen and disappeared to lose his lunch in the sink. If anyone on Hogwarts’ staff should have known, should have seen it coming from a Merlin damned mile away… And he’d ignored every sign there ever was. 

The potions master had convinced himself Harry was staying at Hogwarts for Albus over the holidays, even if he wasn’t supposed to know about their relation to one another. He’d thought the boy lived at the Weasley’s for Ron when he wasn’t at Andromeda’s, convincing himself that Harry and the redhead his age were the spitting reincarnation of James and Sirius. Everyday he’d willfully turned a blind eye to any of Harry and Albus’ interactions that seemed odd, blaming it on his own presence, rather than accepting that something wasn’t right. He’d known all summer, since Harry’s real home had been revealed, that this was going to be a hard conversation, but he never expected it to be this bad.

No sooner was his Uncle Sev out the door to the living area, retching as he went, then the whole house went dark as Sirius’ magic lashed out. No one could see two inches in front of their face for about ten long seconds, Draco would have thought he could have heard a pin drop. However, when the lights came back on, he saw his mother standing between Sirius Black and the back of the sofa, the man was still peering at Harry’s torso unmoved. He glanced over and spotted his sister deposited on the barstool their mother had just vacated, next to Tonks who was cradling a terrified looking Teddy. 

Narcissa had her hand on Sirius’ face, but her mouth was in his ear trying to calm him. The animagus loved his mate more than ever, as the lights came back on, and she carefully turned back toward the larger party, never looking at Harry to violate his privacy. He tried to breathe, to keep Harry from daring to think that this rage was, in any way, directed at him but Sirius could feel the red trying to seep into his vision.

Of course, Draco figured that his mother probably already knew every mark on his mate’s middle. He and Harry shared thoughts across their bond all the time now that it was open. He knew, as well as the dark haired Gryffindor, that she had probably already seen it through her mate’s mind’s eye. Still, he felt a wave of affection boil up for his mother, who Harry still hadn’t officially met, from the boy who lived, and Draco couldn’t help but smile. Feeling some confidence return to his mate, the two people he was most afraid of telling out of the way, the blonde abandoned his place at Harry’s shoulder and went to stand beside his mother and sister at the bar, now that she was no longer about to strike the life from him at a moment’s notice.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sirius demanded, once he was capable of something other than yelling. 

“It stopped once I turned eleven,” Harry disclosed, not seeing when his father came back into the room behind him, “This is all from before. They didn’t know I couldn’t do magic outside of Hogwarts. With the danger gone I thought it would be easier to search if I was expected to be in the muggle world all summer.”

“After my first year, the twins knew something was wrong when I disappeared, and came to bail me out,” he tried to sum it all up quickly, “They got me out and I stayed at the Weasley’s for the rest of the summer. The next year, you saw me blow up and get out of there on The Knight Bus, to stay in Diagon Alley.”

“What is happening?,” Molly Weasley finally demanded from her place in the doorway between the kitchen and living area. She had spent countless hours worrying about Harry after finding out that he’d never had a Christmas present and that he’d had bars on his windows at the Dursleys. He’d never been willing to talk about his home life though, “Someone better tell me what in Merlin’s name is going on!”

Harry did a quick reduction and realized that more people knew than didn’t at this point. Grandpa Abby and the trio of death were undoubtedly sharing the gruesome image his torso made using legilimency. Draco’s mother had really already probably seen it through Sirius, she was just a nice human to not look. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Remus and Tonks were the last, so he decided to just get it over with.

“Teddy, Capri, can you two get me some water?”

Teddy wasn’t sure what was wrong with his Kitty, but he could tell from the adults that it was bad, and was excited to be able to help. He pulled his new friend into the kitchen with a loud affirmative, missing the way that Harry winced at the noise, as well as when the teenager slipped his shirt off completely.

The horror that came into Molly’s eyes made him reflexively try and throw the glamours back up, covering the marks, “I’m okay, I’m fine. Mrs. Weasley, look at me, this happened years ago.”

Her hand shook as she went to touch his cheek, as if trying to assure herself that he was alive before her. He reached his hand up and held hers, trying to smile, an attempt at convincing her that he was… in the same condition he’d been in before this little discussion started. When she wasn’t fixated on his middle anymore and able to look him in the eye, he dropped the glamours again. 

It was a surprise when her eyes switched to focus on something behind him, but he quickly put it together when she asked, “Did you two know about this?”

“No!!!” All three chorused, before Harry backed off to stand with Neville, so the twins would plead their case.

“Absolutely not!” Fred said with conviction.

“We would have told you, Mum,” George assured her.

“It only came out yesterday…”

“...Because of that bloody Cretin gnome!”

“You would have been the first person to know!”

“Just like with the presents…”

“...And the barred windows!”

“But he made us swear to let him tell you!” They finished together. 

Narcissa recognized the look in Molly’s eyes, it was a gaze of sheer steel, that had the twins weighed and measured in seconds. If they had been found wanting, the redheaded woman would have known in a moment, and would have tore them a new one. But, they were telling the truth, because she only nodded, kissed Harry’s cheek, and disappeared into the kitchen with her hands shaking. The blonde siren followed the Weasley matriarch, knowing Sirius could handle the kids now that he knew to be suspicious of anything else that could possibly have happened, as she hoped to give Molly a small bit of the comfort the woman had previously offered her.

Tonks quickly moved out with them to comfort Molly, since her mother had finally gone home to sleep today, after her shift at the hospital ended. She passed the toddlers coming back into the living area, but by the time she glanced back, Harry had already put the shirt back on, and was thanking his young godbrother like nothing happened. Her mate’s golden eyes were locked on Harry and she knew that he was likely never going to let the boy out of his sight again.

The room finally took a breath, the fight or flight reaction beginning to drain from the adults, when Harry finally got an ounce of courage and looked up at Remus. The werewolf’s eyes were yellow, but he knew instantly that the rage was not directed at him. Without a second thought, he let the much taller man drag him into a tight embrace. Slowly he released a breath that Harry hadn’t even realized he was holding in.

He had lived in Remus’ arms as a baby, his sweaters a natural source of comfort, as his mother raged at her husband and brother’s stupidity for one thing or another. The embrace made the teen nostalgic for his favorite memory of his mother… 

She had been so angry, after months in hiding and being confined to Godric’s Hollow not helping, when the werewolf finally confessed his best friends’ suspicions to Lily Potter, that they thought Remus was the spy. Harry remembers dreaming about that discussion after he heard Remus laugh for the first time on the train. He realizes now that he dreamed about it because, once upon a time, Remus had laughed as he, the injured party, tried to keep Harry’s redhead of a mother calm and from killing Sirius Black and James Potter when they returned from Nurmengard from visiting their grandfather, for even suggesting such a thing. 

By the time Remus let go, Sirius had moved to claim the spot that Grandpa Graves vacated, and the animagus tapped the cushion between himself and Gellert, to get Harry to rejoin them. The boy collapsed into his arms and Sirius held onto him for several minutes, still fantasizing about what he’d like to do to Petunia Evans and whatever other monster she’d married. It was worse then he’d dared to expect and he’d have to get Narcissa and Andy to work with the boy. 

Capri moved to sit on the arm of the couch while they hugged. She hadn’t seen the damage done to Harry, but she and Teddy both had a sense that something serious was wrong with the older boy. Sirius’ younger godson had tears in his eyes and had to be comforted by Remus at the thought of something wrong with his Kitty, while the little girl patted Harry’s curly hair gently. 

“I know it seems to pale in comparison,” Percival Graves said once he was calm enough to do so, “But you have not gotten out of telling us when you’ve been at Hogwarts in the last week.”

Harry groaned and hid his face deeper in Sirius’ blazer, but he was too grateful for the change in topic to complain more, or try and get out of the discussion.

Sirius chuckled, honestly thinking that the boy just sneaking off to Hogwarts to spend time with Albus Dumbledore would be a damn relief after the hell that was the last few days. 

Of course, that was as long as the man wasn’t planning to dump him with any more abusive relatives; might as well have left him with Walburga Black, apparently. Sirius tried to quiet the thoughts, he knew logically that it was a tragic mistake. He could see it on the man’s face from over Harry’s dark curls. Didn’t mean that the headmaster didn’t need his lights knocked out for it, but from the rage Sirius could now see on a certain blonde seer’s face, once Harry wasn’t looking at him, Grandpa Gellert was going to be on that sooner rather than later. 

“I mean the redhead didn’t even think you knew what a horcrux was, apparently” Percival pondered the information he’d gotten tonight from Albus, Gellert, and Harry over the last day, “And the twins said they only made you swear to tell us about the muggles yesterday.”

“Alright, yesterday afternoon…” Harry started.

“Oh Merlin curse it all,” Sirius growled, “You’re grounded already.”

“Fair,” the teen didn’t even attempt to argue, “After the gnome attack, I got glamours back on but they noticed, and so did he.”

The teen gave a vague gesture toward his red haired grandfather and the band, if Neville happened to be sitting at the bar and the adults thought he was included with the others, Harry didn’t correct them, “I was trying to do damage control, so we snuck out to go to Hogwarts, after lunch and before the ministry officials arrived.”

“How in the hell did you get out?” Remus asked them, “Much less back in? I thought you warded everything?”

Sirius looked at his sister’s son for several long moments, putting it together, “I warded the doors, but it didn’t even occur to me to ward the windows… Of course, the only windows that would have been accessible from outside are here on the first floor. But, the only way upstairs, which you would have had to use if you came back while the officials were here are those stairs right there… Did you really sneak right in behind my back? I would have heard that…”

“Unless someone was covering for them,” Remus finished for him, thinking back to Albus’ surprise arrival. He had just assumed Gellert and Percival summoned him back from Hogwarts.

“You’re not wrong,” Sirius acknowledged his best mate, letting go of Harry and standing with his arms crossed, staring at a certain blonde, who suddenly refused to meet his eye, “But, I was going upstairs to check on them right after lunch and got distracted. I’m thinking they had a spy in the ranks long before he came back from Hogwarts.”

“Please don’t tell Mum,” Draco pleaded with his biological father, “I’m on thin enough ice as it is and if she gets one more reason for it, my death will not be with mercy.”

Sirius just snorted, “Alright, is there  _ anything else _ , that one of the adults in this room right now, might need to know?!”

“No, that’s it, I swear,” Harry threw his hands in the air. 

“Do you have any idea how badly all of this could have gone?!” Sirius finally yelled. He opened his mouth to keep yelling, but was cut off.

“Oh sure,” Gellert finally rejoined the conversation, “I say it at Nurmengard yesterday and I’m in the wrong, but when you all say it then it’s fine.”

“Look at it this way; you came to your senese first,” Harry offered, “You always tended toward the dark side anyway.”

They grinned at each other.

Everyone glanced away for a moment at a bright flash as the floo fired up, before Sirius glanced back up to be standing before Augusta Longbottom in all her glory, “Where is he, Sirius?”

“Bloody hell,” they all heard Neville curse, “Grandma, I can explain!”

“Oh you can explain!?” Augusta turned on him shouting, “I have been in every hospital and jail between here and France!”

“One more power over and you might have found us,” Fred and George chorused, before jumping behind Remus and Gellert, keeping the couch between them and Augusta. 

Harry quickly moved to Neville’s back, offering the other boy backup..

“Okay, but it’s not as bad as it looks!” Neville tried to start.

“Do you have any idea how badly this stunt could have gone?!” Augusta screamed at her grandson.

“Yes, believe it or not, it was discussed at length!” the younger Longbottom assured her.

Harry chortled, his forehead falling forward to his best mate’s shoulder, when he couldn’t keep a straight face.

The woman glared at the two, before hissing at both, “Xenophilius Lovegood, showed up on my doorstep this morning to explain, when I returned unsuccessful after a day of searching, praying to every god I’d ever heard of that you’d managed to drag yourself back home, what he saw in the middle of a dark forest in Yorkshire. Would either of you blockheads like to take a crack at what he and his father-in-law saw, at his daughter’s suggestion they checked the illegal site out?”

“Oh,” the thought struck Harry suddenly that he hadn’t actually mentioned that yet, so he looked back at Sirius, “Mine and Draco’s third mate is Luna Lovegood.”

Sirius suffered through a sigh, “Anything else?”

“No, that’s it,” Harry hoped to Merlin it was at least, he wasn’t going to be allowed out of a straight jacket and padded room if things kept popping off around him.

“Which reminds me,” Augusta turned to the Dumbledores, “Newt suggests you get him keyed into these wards before Tina gets off work tomorrow morning, so he can see his granddaughter’s mates are safe. Otherwise, he won’t be so kind as to calm her down before letting both the Goldstein sisters on your asses!”

“Bollocks!” Aberforth exclaimed, ushering Sirius toward the fire place, to let the magizoologist in.

Percival groaned, “Tina’s never going to let me live this down.”

“Harry!” Albus scolded reflexively.

“Oh, shit, my other mate also happens to be Newt Scamander’s granddaughter and she knew what was happening the other night,” Harry admitted, “Okay, this part I just genuinely forgot until I woke up an hour ago!”

Remus was shaking he was trying so hard not to laugh as Sirius stood up from the fireplace, “It’s not funny.”

“Your father thinks it is,” the werewolf reminded him.

“If I’d known when he said ‘May your sons end up just like you’ that it was an actual curse,” Sirius muttered as the floo fired green once again, “I’d have earned that place in Azkaban over his dead body!”

Aberforth couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing that Orion would have loved to be here, just to watch as their son got what was coming to him, after years of Sirius being an infuriating little shit. Well, the boy now had two teenage sons wrecking havoc all over London; Orion can have died happy, finally.

Newt Scamander arrived in Grimmauld Place with his case and feeling as old as Bathilda Bagshot, who, after seeing Grindelwald on the couch, he was surprised wasn’t already here. Upon perceiving the young Peverell heir next to the blonde Dark Lord, he barely had the common sense to step out of the way before yelling, “Do you have any idea how badly this could’ve gone?”

Luna stepped through the fireplace after him, but the girl’s only goal was only to jump into Harry’s arms crying. Newt spotted the boy flinching and jabbed his thumb at the pair in general inquiry.

Albus just sighed, “Be gentle, Luna. He took a bit of an injury to his back.”

“Oh really, how did you manage that? Dark Lord duel or Pettigrew capture?” Newt demanded.

“Werewolf ambush,” Harry answered honestly, before just slipping the shirt off so that Luna could see both his front and back, as the small kids had their backs turned, before throwing it back on when the tots looked up.

Newt watched his granddaughter burst into tears over the state of her mate and could only turn toward his mentor in shock, “Is he being a smartarse? I can’t tell.”

“Sadly, no,” Sirius answered instead, once he had it so that the Goldstein sisters could join them after a night of damage control at Macusa. They’d be arriving after a couple days to stew from the paper’s original coverage of Harry’s night, Newt had definitely told his mate about what happened in Yorkshire, and the Marauder was not looking forward to it. 

Still, the boy was alive and about to fall over. Sirius could tell that the pain potion Severus gave his son earlier was trying to kick in, but the boy was fighting it, with Luna and Newt’s arrival. He sighed, “Harry, well, all of you, really, get upstairs and back to sleep.”

He saw the boy start to protest, probably feeling responsible for the fall out, but if it took his dying breath, Sirius was going to convince Harry that he was still one of the kids in this family, at least for two more years. Despite the last couple days, he was not going to be responsible for everything all the time; Harry was only fifteen years old, exceptional or not. Holding up a hand he got the younger animagus to listen to him, “Trust me, it’s fine. I can handle this lot while you sleep. Get everyone out of here while there’s a chance.”

Harry seemed to weigh that statement and realized that his godfather was right. It was all out now and it was getting to the point that, other than grounding him and yelling, no one’s issue was really with him anymore. The twins had guilty looks from the moment their mother left, Neville looked ready to run out to escape his grandmother, and Draco was too relieved that Sirius hadn’t called for his mother, to even enjoy a tearful Luna gearing up to give Harry a piece of her mind. 

So, Harry nodded and moved toward the stairs, the rest of the teens following him. 

“Daddy, can I go with Harry?” Teddy asked his father.

“I think that’s a good idea, cub,” Remus told his son.

“Yay, Kitty!” Teddy said running for his godbrother’s arms, “Capri come on!!!”

Capricornia sprang from the arm of the sofa and the eight escaped from the room quickly. 

Augusta moved to the small table in the corner of the room, taking the chair Molly had vacated, and that was the moment it hit Albus... Minerva hadn’t said a word.

The witch’s eyes were already locked on him when he finally remembered her presence and Albus could only sit there, facing his second and best friend. He could tell instantly that she had waited patiently, until Harry slipped off his shirt to show the room at large the damage. She hadn’t wanted her favorite student to remember she was there and clam up. Lightning flashed in her eyes when the teens’ door closed upstairs and she stood suddenly charging straight for him, but he didn't dare look away. 

He more than owed her that.

The cracking sound of her slapping him made everyone else jump, but he heard it before he really even felt the sting of his cheek. 

Even Gellert jumped from his place on the sofa, the only one who’d been watching them to see it happen, unsure if he should defend his mate or start the inevitable line. Percy and Aberforth spun around quickly from their recliners, he thought more to verify someone had done it, then any sort of outrage on his behalf, not that he was expecting the latter from anyone. He’d seen the look that Harry had given him as the teen left, like he felt he needed to defend Albus. The Headmaster was genuinely grateful someone was getting this out of the way before the poor boy could be put in a position to do any such thing on his behalf. 

“I told you! I watched them all day and I told you the sort of muggles they were!” 

“Yes, you did,” He acknowledged, “I’m so sorry, Minerva, I should have listened.”

“What did you say instead? They’re the only family he has left,” Minerva growled, “Well forgive me if I call bullshit, fourteen years too late, though it may be, given how many people have been dumping magic into him over the last two days! Not to mention anyone who is capable of getting into this house right now at large!”

She paced across the room and back, “Merlin damn it all Albus, them being the only ones outside the magical world was not enough! It never occurred to you that maybe there was a reason Lily never mentioned her sister as an alternative to her parents?”

“Only since yesterday, when I saw them,” he admitted in a whisper. He’d never be able to unsee his grandson’s scars.

“I don’t care how bad the fallout would have been! Him growing up in the magical world would have been far better than this! At least anyone here would have treated him like a child deserves to be treated! Like a human being who’s loved!”

“You’re right,” He told her.

He didn’t even hear the second slap that found his other cheek. He felt the burn first this time, before the ringing finally left his ears and he could hear again.

“I feel like I just got moved to the adult table,” Sirius was telling Remus, who stood next to him by the arm of the sofa, “And it’s not as much fun as I always imagined.”

Albus risked a glance up at Minerva and still couldn’t help the sad smile that crossed his face, at the ghost of a grin from the woman at her son’s comment, before a stern expression replaced it and she pursed her lips at the older wizard again, “The worst thing you ever did to me, was teaching them to cut tense moments with humor.”

“Well, it’s the second rule of pranking,” Albus reminded her, “All humor is based in some misery; that’s why it’s perfect for when you’re miserable.”

“I have never been this angry with you,” Minnie confessed hand going to her forehead, “Did  _ any  _ adult know what was going on with him?”

“I don’t think so,” Gellert spoke up, “We all had different pieces.”

“I realize he was bad,” Sirius started.

“Don’t say it,” Remus told him, “Do not.”

“But, we’re all sitting here. Peter is in jail, all Voldemort’s horcruxes are destroyed, Harry is alive, and the most badass team of aurors, and Dark Lords, ever assembled is being used to hunt one man who’s cut his soul, from which our magic comes, into what, like ten pieces now?”

“Eight,” Albus, Gellert, and Percival chorused at the same time before starting at their own synchronicity. 

“Not to mention, the ministry has decided to put off their inspection for another year,” Minerva pointed out from the seat she took between Sirius and Gellert.

“Apparently that’s now on the same level as the other things,” Sirius examined his mother, “And I’m going to assume it has something to do with the memory you palmed Neville; we will be talking later.”

“Which reminds me,” Albus turned to Remus, “I really need you to consider coming back for another year.”

“What!? Have you lost your mind? I’d rather kill you dead where you stand,” Remus growled.

“Get in line,” Minerva hissed, glaring at the headmaster once more, “But we are in a staffing pickle.”

“I am not working for him,” Remus repeated.

“Did the kids even eat anything?” Sirius changed the subject, realizing Remus was in no state to be responding to job offers at the moment, “I mean, Harry got the spins, and he’s been asleep all day. I don’t think he’s eaten a thing.”

Molly must have heard them from the kitchen because suddenly she and Narcissa were both heading up the stairs, Tonks coming to lean in the doorway. The sound of ruckus from upstairs was the adults only warning and then the twins were running past the living area and into the kitchen, with some sort of ears in their fingertips, their mother chasing after them. The Weasley matriarch chased them out of sight, as Narcissa appeared with Neville and Draco, both of their ears clutched in her fingertips as she drug them downstairs.

“What is the matter with you lot! Spying on the adults, have you lost your minds! You are grounded until Yule!” Narcissa was scolding them.

“Okay, but you didn’t even put up a silencing charm,” Draco defended, “May as well have sent out written invitations quite frankly!”

The blonde witch sought out her mate’s eyes, “Your son!”

“What did you expect?” Draco demanded, gesturing to the stairs, “We’ve followed him for this long. We’re not going to trip at the finish line because nobody over thirty wants to talk to each other!”

Narcissa pinched the bridge of her nose, “That’s a reason to spy on your family?”

“When the family has been consistently dragging their feet for a fucking decade?  _ Yes _ .”

“I don’t care how inventive it is!” Molly shouted from the kitchen, chasing the twins back into the living room, “You have no business using it to eavesdrop on people!”

The twins ran and hid behind Remus and Sirius, putting the couch and two marauders between their persons and their mother.

“Okay fair but if we could just have input on one thing…” George started.

“And as the kids who you’ve been the only decent teacher for…” Fred’s voice joined him. 

“...In seven bloody years, quite frankly,” George continued from his place at Remus’ shoulder.

“We strongly recommend that you say yes,” Neville informed him, as Cissy finally released he and Draco.

“Otherwise, we’ll end up having to go with his plan,” Sirius’ son warned, nodding back up the stairs toward Harry and Luna, where they had just appeared on the second floor landing, carrying Teddy and Capri respectively.

“... What the hell is wrong with you? Of course I sent Grandpa after you when I got your letter!” Luna was mid shout as she descended the stairs with the small girl in her arms, “I can’t believe Draco didn’t tell them where you were! My gods, do you realize how wrong it could have gone? Who would have thought back up might have been a good idea? That’s insanity at its finest the mere suggestion!”

The other teen, who had to be high as Hel was great by now, stood at the top of the stairs waiting for Teddy, who was sat on his shoulders messing up a rubix cube. He handed the cube to Harry and the teen had it solved by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, handing it back to the tot right before they reached the first floor. 

“But it didn’t!” Harry finally said to her, his migraine getting worse due to the yelling, “I still don’t think I’m getting enough credit for pulling all this off in one night!”

Suddenly Harry heard a loud cracking sound and he was facing into the kitchen; it took him a second to realize the sound and his stinging cheek were connected. Luna had been yelling from the second the door shut upstairs, and he was listening to her, he definitely was, but Teddy had been giving him something to do with his hands. Now that he had time to process his own comment maybe the statement, while correct, was ill timed. He could already admit that, while true, it wasn’t the best way to follow up his confession letter of what was happening and the fact that he might’ve died the other night. When he looked back at Luna, their noses were less than a centimeter apart.

“Just because you are the smartest person in the room, just because you get frustrated that others can’t keep up with you, does not give you the right to disregard everyone else’s feelings when they’re affected by your actions,” Luna hissed at him, “You still have to communicate with people!”

“I knew a century ago that if you two ever combined DNA into one human, I’d end up suffering,” Percival muttered, “This just wasn’t how I was expecting us to get here.”

“Fair,” Harry finally said to Luna, after letting her statement sink in for a minute, “But if you think about it, I get it honest. Had any of them been communicating long before that night started, I couldn’t have gotten away with it. Yell at them!”

She released another fae hiss before turning on her heel to move into the kitchen. 

Harry sighed, glancing down at the cube Teddy handed back to him, starting to solve it quickly, as the adults were looking dead at him processing his truthful statement. Giving it back to his godbrother, he pointed to the kitchen trying to break the tension, “I’m just trying to get food, I swear.”

“I am not coming back to Hogwarts,” Remus told Albus, trying desperately to change the subject upon the kids’ return, before turning back to Harry, “So what’s this plan of yours, to convince me to come back?”

Sirius snorted because, for all Harry looked like James Potter’s mini-me, the way his brows furrowed and his nose wrinkled like a bunny, he looked just like Sirius’ little sister for a moment, “I didn’t have a plan for that...Oh, wait, I guess I kind of... No, that wasn’t a plan! I mean, it was a threat if anything quite frankly.”

“What?” Remus demanded.

“Not like a threat threat, I mean… We woke up, I had a migraine, I was pissy. I’d had a vision of you getting the chance to come back again this year, everyone was excited, and I told them if you tried to refuse then we’d just put you in a sack and you could wake up on the Hogwarts Express. It wasn’t like the other day, like an actual  _ plan _ .”

“Your nephew,” Remus accused his best mate. 

“Your wife and I would both help him find the sack,” Sirius reminded him, already waving Harry and Teddy on into the kitchen, along with the other teens, “Don’t start with us, or we’ll ship you out with the old Mum.”

Minerva looked like she might have tried to keep persuading Remus to come back, but was cut off by the time. 

The clock on the wall struck ten and everyone was ready to get back to something of a normal night’s rest. Newt collected Luna from the kitchen, promising to return with Tina the next morning, and to meet Sirius and Augusta for school supplies in two days. Sirius noted that Neville blatantly left under protest, decidedly less concerned about his grandmother’s wrath, when the alternative was leaving his best mate. 

The twins vetoed themselves into staying with Harry as they were seventeen. Molly threatened to remove limbs if there were anymore shenanigans before going home with Arthur to relieve Bill and Fleur from watching Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. 

Sirius made a mental note to investigate the business deal he’d heard suggestion of, over the next day.

Narcissa scooted Harry and Draco upstairs once the dark haired boy had eaten, emphasizing their seperate rooms, knowing damn well it wasn’t going to make a bit of difference. She’d kill over trying until they got their own place in a few years though; it was part of the experience according to Aberforth. 

She felt a pulling on her sleeve and found Capri wanting to be picked up. Tonks was coming out of the kitchen holding a sleepy Teddy. Both kids bedtimes had gone to pot over the last few days. Luckily, as they started upstairs to put them down, the example of the big kids that it was bedtime, meant absolutely no resistance from the toddlers. 

Minerva informed the Headmaster tersely that she’d handle the school and look for a replacement given Remus’ absolute refusal. Albus wasn’t sure how she’d figured out he wanted to stay with Gellert at Nurmengard for a while, but it didn’t seem like a good time to ask either. So, he thanked her and made a mental note to get her an exquisite Christmas present. 

“Are you coming back to Nurmengard with us?” Gellert asked Percival. He and Albus had been discussing ways to keep the Director in Europe the entire day Harry had been asleep, rather than letting the vampire go back to the states, using their mating bond. One of the first things they’d realized was that they had a better chance if they stayed together, rather than trying to convince him separately.

“I need to check in with Tina for work.”

“I was talking to Newt, she’s got it covered,” Albus assured him, “Apparently if you show your face in the states before she gets here, she’s going to ask the President to get involved.”

“No reason for her to be vicious about it,” Percy muttered.

“Come on,” Gellert said grabbing his husband’s arm, “They are officially Sirius and Narcissa’s problem, let’s go before anything else is somehow our fault.”

Remus snorted as they moved to collect their things once it was just the five of them, “What are we going to do?”

“I may not risk going to prison now that I’ve got the kids,” Sirius admitted, “But if I get back the Head Auror role, I can make Petunia’s life a living legal hell, and I will.”

“Make Grandpa proud, but my probationary period requires that I leave before you have this conversation,” Gellert said as he stepped through the floo and headed for Nurmengard.

“Make both of us proud,” Percival reminded them, “If you need help, ask for it! Attempt to set a good example for once in your lives.”

“Please don’t end up in prison,” Albus knew all he could do was make it a request before taking off, “For his sake at least.”

“You know, for how bad these last few days could’ve gone,” Sirius finally finished his statement to Remus, “He’s managed to pull this off fairly well.”

Albus couldn’t help but snort as he stepped out of the fireplace into Gellert’s suite. He was surprised that the blonde had already collapsed in one of the chairs, while Percy was at the desk he’d been sitting on yesterday. Honesty, he’d half expected the seer to be waiting on him so Gellert could finish what Minerva started. Those dark and light eyes found him and Albus realized he may not have escaped that inevitability.

“G…”

“How could you just leave him there for ten years?” Gellert demanded, “What the hell is the matter with you?”

“I… It wasn’t supposed to go so wrong, I never thought they would mistreat a child.”

“It didn’t occur to you that, maybe, if you were the only one who knew where he was, you should have been checking in?” The blonde stood and started pacing in front of him, “Why would you just leave him? Merlin, Albus, make it make sense to me, please!”

He sunk down onto the sofa across the room from Gellert and just stared at his mates for the longest time. Percival never stopped whatever he was working on at the desk, seeming oblivious to them, but Gellert didn’t seem to be able to look away from him. It was like he thought he could force Albus’ decisions to make sense through nothing but will power. The redheaded fae tried to think of how to explain what had happened fourteen years ago. 

“The night they died, I felt Lily fade. I was with Hagrid and Newt but I crumbled. I don’t even remember how long it was before I realized that Harry was still there… It couldn’t have been very long if Hagrid met Sirius and Severus at the house. It was so fast, it was… All I knew was that he needed to be as far away from our world as he could be once the sun came up,” He sighed, head falling into his hands, unable to look up from the floor.

“Lily and I had talked about it, sending Harry to his muggle grandparents if things went wrong, to get him out of the magical world. She never mentioned Petunia as an alternative, but you know how much the kids didn’t want Harry raised by his grandparents, if they could help it,” Albus had gone around the bin with Lily so many tiimes on that front. She’d always been stubborn.

He sighed; he could only imagine where she got it from, “They wanted him to have both: parents and grandparents, and... It never occurred to me that her sister would be a threat, once the Evans had died. I told Minerva the plan and she went to watch them. She tried to tell me but I thought…” He stuttered just thinking about it. 

“I saw them with their son, he was spoiled if anything, it wasn’t even a thought that Petunia would let…” He felt a fae hiss slide past his lips before he could stop it, more angry with himself then anyone else could possibly be, “I left a note explaining what had happened and how Petunia could contact me. I put a warming spell on him and I sat on Arabella Figg’s front porch all night, watching him. I couldn’t just leave him but Lily already warned me how muggles were wish sudden uses of magic....”

“Petunia collected him that morning and was contacting me for more information within the hour,” Albus told him, “I went across the street and sat with her for hours trying to explain what had happened and that Harry was safer in the muggle world. She agreed to take him in, but only if she was assured that they wouldn’t have to deal with the magical world. I swear, I thought he was going to be safer there.”

Gellert ran a hand through his shoulder length hair, able to hear what the redhead still didn’t feel he had the right to say, “Everyone likes to forget you lost a daughter too.”

“Lily wasn’t…”

“Don’t you dare disrespect her by saying that,” Gellert hissed at him. They’d been having this debate for years. Aberforth was such a petty little bitch most of the time.

Percy felt his brow come together and looked up at them from the desk, “Is that an issue?”

“What?” Albus asked him startled, he’d forgotten the vampire was there.

“Do you not acknowledge her?”

“That’s a really awkward way to put it?” Albus pondered the perspective, “I always acknowledged her.”

It was hard not to when the fourteen year old had been standing in his office holding the results of her class’ heritage potions, citing who her biological parents were.

“Then I’m missing something,” Percival said, “Because she certainly did you.”

“Did me… She acknowledged me?” Albus wasn’t surprised, he just didn’t know what that meant. The agreement had always been that Abby and Orion were the parents, he was the uncle. That had been the deal they worked out before Lily was even conceived. 

“The moment I met her,” Percival told them, finally putting the damn fountain pen down, to give them his full attention from the desk, “Yule dinner of their seventh year; James had brought her home to meet the family…”

“Oh bollocks,” Albus suddenly knew this could not end well. 

“James introduced us, she heard my name and said ‘Oh, you’re one of my dad’s mates! What is you three’s deal? Nobody will explain it to me!’ Sirius busted out laughing before telling her that no one knew what our deal was, and that the kids who wanted to live survived longer not asking. Then, he called James ‘some psychic’ for not seeing that particular shit show about to come barreling down on their asses, and sprinted off to write Vinda’s mini-me about the entire endeavor.”

“Oh that woman is going to haunt my dreams tonight,” Gellert confessed as he thought of little Narcissa’s fate the last fourteen years.

“She loved the fact that you were her father. Doesn’t mean she loved Aberforth any less,” Percy reminded Albus solemnly. 

When the redhead didn’t bother to hide his surprise, the vampire raised an eyebrow, going for one of Gellert’s cigars, “I hate to tell you, sweet prince, but I am friends with your brother because I like him. It’s got nothing to do with you…” He took a hit, “Keeping that cold calculator, Walburga’s, grubby hands off Sirius and Reggie was a full time occupation back in the day. You checked out when Lily was kidnapped, the rest of us weren’t so lucky. We had your nephews to raise.”

Albus huffed, properly abashed, and wanting to finish the conversation on one book of sins before opening the next, “I thought I was giving him up to protect him. After the services, when Severus started demanding to know where his son was, I asked him if Harry wouldn't be safer staying with his aunt. I know everyone thought I meant Andromeda, she and Sirius were the closest, Lily loved her like a big sister. But…”

“Oh gods, I should have known Sirius was innocent, I should have,” He broke down crying then, shaking and crying, but his voice was calm and steady as always, even as one hand found the bridge of his nose, “But I thought he’d betrayed her, his own sister.”

His hand pinched the bridge of his nose even as tears poured from his eyes, “I was sitting on Arabella’s porch waiting on Petunia when Alastor walked up. He handed me the copy of the auror’s report, it said he’d confessed under veritaserum and I just couldn’t… I should have demanded to see him, I should have verified it, I always suspected Peter but the boys never would let me question him. They always protected him and I know I left your other son, my nephew, in there, all because I was afraid to face Sirius. Harry was in that hell because of me... I’m so sorry.”

When someone kneeled in front of him, one hand on his knee, and the other pulling his hands away from his face, Albus just assumed it had to be Gellert. So, looking up into the lavender blue eyes of James Potter’s grandcarrier gave him a start, but the Peverell Lord only sighed, “Albus, you are no more responsible for that than me. I… I was in the middle of transferring into the Ministry when James and Lily died, I was going to move back to Europe, but after that Halloween…”

Gellert sat there shocked never having considered that Percy would come back. Certainly not that he’d been actively planning it a decade ago. He had gotten to a place where it hurt too much to hope. 

The Director sighed, “After asking what our deal was that day at Yule, with her next breath, your daughter asked me if I was still going to be having my little temper tantrum when she and James got married.”

Albus and Gellert both burst out laughing, it thrummed across their mating bond, reminding the geniuses that the vampire had been there all day, he was just so used to muting his input around Albus, neither had thought about it. Percy had known they were upset over him leaving. Albus was embarrassed but Gellert... wasn’t the headmaster realized. 

And suddenly it struck the fae that Percy wasn’t trapped in Gellert’s castle with the two of them. Quite the opposite actually, as he was the one trapped in Gellert’s castle with the husbands, and his mates… and oh bloody fucking hell.

Whatever look of sheer haplessness crossed his face, Percy was ever merciful and backed off an entire foot to sit on the coffee table. That helped bring the temperature down from the sudden thousand degrees it had been. Albus took a steadying breath, realizing his hand was still in the Director’s.

The vampire redirected the conversation from their little detour, “I couldn’t face him either; that’s not something you can take sole blame for. I left my other son there because of fear. It was wrong but it happened. I did it… You’re not the only catholic left in this family; some traditions are sacred.”

They had never talked before Harry’s little debut, decades of avoiding one another in political factions with definite expertise on both sides was still between them. Albus didn’t want to pull his hand away from the dark wizard now. He fiddled with the black ring, encrusted with emeralds, in the shape of a skull with a deathly hallows symbol on the top of the cranium, that marked the man as Lord Potter until Harry turned seventeen, “Tonight… I’d never asked Sirius more than I needed to, I didn’t have that right… Plus, Aberforth got him out of Britain so fast for treatment, of course he wanted the boy as far away from me as possible… But, it didn’t sound like you two had…”

“When Aberforth summoned me two nights ago, that was the first time I’d seen him. We’d been exchanging letters, but hadn’t gotten to compare notes in person, between the tournament and Voldemort’s resurrection, things had gotten…” Percival sighed, “Abby and I were just trying to keep him out of prison and Harry alive. Me being so far away didn’t help.”

“You could just move back now,” Gellert suggested from the spot next to Albus on the sofa.

The Headmaster had absolutely no clue when the blonde had moved, it must have been when he broke down, but the blonde was careful with his words, looking at both of them like frightened fawns that could bolt at any second. Albus thought maybe even the suggestion had been too much when Percival shot up and wandered back over to the desk, picking up whatever letter he’d been working on and his cigar.

Gellert rolled his eyes in Albus’ direction wanting aid, but his hands were already going into the air in surrender, “It was just a thought, Percy! Don’t get defensive, I know you love Macusa, but James commuted with little problem…”

The dark haired wizard snorted, “I do love Macusa, but Tina’s been ready to move up for years, to take over as Director. You know I always thought… I thought this letter would take a lot longer for me to write, that I’d be heartbroken. Now, I just want that kid to be a kid, for five minutes... and no career could possibly be worth more than that.”

Black and white eyes met blue, before they both shot off the couch to get a look at the letter the vampire was holding. Their suspicions were correct, in Percival Graves’ hands was a letter of resignation, citing a family emergency as his reason to leave immediately, and naming Associate Director Tina Goldstein as his successor. A century of protecting the states summed up in one short letter that gave Newt’s wife permission to pack up his office and send over any personal effects. 

“I know you’ll miss it,” Albus tried to be comforting, he couldn’t imagine facing his own retirement, whenever Minerva was ready to take over. He thought they still had several decades together before the woman was finished with him, no matter how close they had come today to the witch striking him dead where he’d stood. 

“Oh gods, you’re going to be a miserable retiree,” Gellert groaned, “Merlin help us.”

“Kiss my ass, Gellert,” Percival told him, “I am sure I can find something to do to occupy my time.”

“Alastor really misses retirement,” Albus told him, “If you still wanted to transfer into the Ministry before Sirius is ready to go back, Moody would be relieved.”

“No,” Percy said quickly, “I’m not going to get in Sirius’ way; he’s about to enter his stride between rejoining work with the Ministry and having the boys home. Plus, I think we all may be better off steering clear of his and Remus’ plans for Petunia.”

“You know, especially with Remus refusing to work within a mile of you,” Gellert told his fae mate, “You could always hire Percy for this year.”

Albus couldn’t help but grin, “It sure would help keep Harry busy...”

The very idea of working at Hogwarts surprised Percival; he’d never really considered teaching. He liked kids and was patient, if strict, but he’d been in the fast paced role of Director for so long, no other jobs ever really crossed his mind. The vampire took another puff off his cigar, thinking it over, “You don’t think it’ll really make Harry miserable, do you?”

Albus snorted, trying to remain focused on the conversation and not get distracted by Percy’s mouth every time he inhaled, “You might be the only person he’d love having there more than Remus.”

“He’s already going to have to put actual effort into most of his other classes now anyway; maybe between me and Minerva, he can be kept from wandering,” Percy considered.

Hogwarts’ Headmaster snorted, “The boy is the definition of not all those who wander…”

“Sounds like the perfect punishment,” Percy thought about it, “Should we warn him or just wait?”

Gellert snorted when the two grinned maniacally at each other, “I don’t know how I wound up with a reputation for being the mean one in this triad.”

He stepped up and kissed Percy, tempted by the same thing their scarlet mate was, then turned to kiss the fae as well, “You both have to admit, given how badly this plan could have gone... Well, I might have to throw my lot in with him more often.”


	4. Inheritance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is still recovering from Harry's debut, but there is still more for this family to learn about one another. Albus is finally getting to have a relationship with both his mates and Harry finally has a real conversation with his last remaining parent.

Albus woke up sore and draped over Gellert Grindelwald. So this was it, the rabbit hole. He was chest to chest with his childhood sweetheart; two more years and it would have been a true century since this happened. It seemed impossible. 

When Percy had finally gotten impatient and kissed him the night before, all of them several drinks down by the wetbar and sharing stories of surviving the Marauders’ generation, the two had forgotten about vampires’ being natural legilimens and necromancers. Somewhere in the afterlife, Albus’ daughter had slow clapped at them finally getting their act together and marched off to keep a closer eye on her last surviving mate and son. They’d both frozen when it strummed along their mating bond, until Gellert caught what had happened, and busted out laughing. 

From there, the vampire had rolled his eyes and moved to help Albus trap their seer between them, then everyone was distracted.

Grabbing for one of the watches on the nightstand, it wound up being Gellert’s, he found that it was about fifteen minutes after seven. It was rare that he slept past five or six, used to his students’ schedule, and being at Hogwarts all school year; Percy was clearly used to something similar if the shower running was any indication. 

He slipped away from G and padded into the bathroom. Seers and insomnia went hand in hand and there was no way the blonde could afford to be woken up by accident. He needed all the sleep he could get.

“Hey, want to join me?” Percival asked automatically as the bathroom door closed.

He was over a hundred years old, Albus should not be blushing this much at the suggestion. At least the steam helped distort his vision and keep him focused. He’d been… disoriented since they left Grimmauld place the previous night.

But, it was still wildly unfair. Vampires didn’t blush once they came into their full inheritance at twenty-five. Newt had been saying that the old idea that vampires couldn’t feel was preposterous since the thirties, but after years with Severus’ depression and stone faced reaction to everything, the Headmaster was just surprised by the overall giddiness and charisma that Percival Graves exuded without effort. 

Thinking back to James, it should not keep catching him off guard. The vampire was more… amiable than he was expecting.

Slipping into the shower, the fae was startled again, when the man was instantly in his space, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. It was little more than a peck, before he was stepping away from the spray to give Albus access. Both their emotions were soft, though the vampire was clearly strong and steady in his emotional presence, now splayed across their mating bond and Albus’ fae empathy. All he could do was stare as he processed the information, Percy’s presence, for the first time without tons of adrenaline, or attempts to ignore each other, between them. The man was so different here, when compared to the impression that Albus had for all these years.

Realizing that the Headmaster wasn’t moving, the vampire looked up and, when it struck him that he was the point of inquiry for the younger wizard, raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“You’re just… different than I was expecting.”

“Abby must have painted one horrible picture of me over the years,” Percy chuckled, then made a vague gesture toward the bedroom, “Or was it the blonde? It was probably him, the jerk.”

“No, no,” Albus corrected quickly, “They never… I mean, we talked about you, but just normal Percy has the kids or Percy still refuses to move back. I meant…”

The vampire laughed and the other master wizard could only stare as Percy kept moving through his shower, washing off quickly, as the steam swarmed around them. He’d asked Gellert the previous night how the current Potter lord, one of the Peverell heirs, managed to look more and more muscular the more clothing he took off. Their seer had laughed and confessed that the man wore so many layers because, being a vampire, he didn’t want people to be more intimidated by his size.

Seeming to realize the man had forgotten their discussion, Percy wandered back over to him, still curious, until they were chest to chest, “You were surprised yesterday when I knew about the tension Lily’s unexpected return caused.”

It was a statement and it took Albus far longer than it should have to realize the man was trying to get them to actually converse. He’d never admit it but the genius couldn’t place the moment he was referring to for seconds. What was wrong with him, “No, that wasn’t why I was surprised.”

The Peverell Lord’s lips turned up in something that managed to be a smirk without being condescending like Gellert’s face would have been. Instead, Percy asked, head tilting, sounding only intrigued, “What then?”

What then what? What were they talking about? He realized all of a sudden that his eyes were still locked on the other man’s lips, that were only maybe a centimeter from his own, then managed to stagger out, “How do you do that?”

His dark head tilted further, “Do what?”

“You start asking these questions and I’m following them and then you step up all dazzling and suddenly my brain short circuits and I can’t even string two brain cells together, much less words!” Albus told him exasperated with the experience. He hadn’t been like this since the summer after he met Gellert.

“Do I dazzle you?” Percy asked him, grinning now.

“Frequently,” Albus released a fae hiss, frustrated with only himself, as he finally managed to bring his hands to the other man’s chest, instructing, “Back up.”

The man easily acquiesced, moving to finish his shower, as a full belly laugh escaped him at the redhead’s antics.

“You shouldn’t have ruined the moment, Albie,” Gellert told him, drawing both their attention.

The man was standing outside the shower, leaning on the wall next to the door. They had no idea how long he’d been awake, but he’d clearly been watching their interaction. Albus flipped him off before stepping under the spray as Percy stepped out to grab a towel and the blonde menace joined him. Last night had reminded him that Gellert was technically the youngest of the three of them… Although he wasn’t sure by how much, because he wasn’t sure of Percy’s age.

“What were you asking?” Albus repeated, or had he said that...

“Why do I keep surprising you?” Percy asked, “If it’s not this one and Aberforth defaming my character.”

“Oh there was defamation some days,” Gellert owned, accepting the kiss the vampire leaned back into the spray to give him, “Especially you were being a stubborn arse.”

“I’m sure,” Percy acknowledged.

“Well, first, I wasn’t surprised you knew about my tension with Abby,” Albus disclosed, “Everyone knew about that; Lily always said we were still ten year olds at heart. It was just that, even when you were correcting me, then repriming me after you thought I was surprised by that, you were just so…”

“So…” Percy suggested lightly where he was brushing his teeth at the sink, when the fae didn’t finish after a couple of minutes.

“I am thinking,” Albus reminded him tersely, sighing. Distance, apparently, as he caught himself just staring at the vampire through the mirror in front of the man, was not the solution.

“If it’s any consolation,” Gellert offered, “I struggled with him for the first few days. My persuasive silver tongue of a siren failed when facing down his stone walled legilimency; I can’t imagine empathy’s gonna be easier to cope with.”

“Is that what it is?” Albus asked, as he processed the information. It made sense as his mating bonds hadn’t been open in a century, “Well, I’m not fond of this transition period.”

Both chuckled as he also stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

After several minutes, when he was sure the fae had forgotten the initial inquiry, Percy finally said, “Will you please answer the question? I’m dying from the anticipation here. Yes, Dark Lord, I’m aware I won’t actually die from it.”

Albus glanced up in time to see the blonde snap his mouth shut, condescending smirk in place, but close lipped. He was curious, “But vampires can die though.”

“And yet we get the nasty reputation for immortality from one iron deficiency,” Percy noted, “While you faes and sirens are left to deage in peace most of the time.”

“Fair,” Albus had to acknowledge. 

Thinking of what Percy had to do to have a career, a century ago, when he’d only just gotten Remus permission to go to school a generation ago... It must have been torturous and notorious in equal measure to try and be an auror back then. He knew that was why the vampire had gone to American and taken his mother’s name; it had still been illegal for vampires to become aurors here. And the man had managed to be Director in the states for at least a year or two prior to meeting Gellert and having Flea, not even a couple years after ‘99. Really it was a miracle what the vampire had managed to…

“Albus...” Percy said again to get the redhead’s attention.

The Headmaster looked up and it suddenly struck him that the vampire could easily see inside his head now that he wasn’t muting his own side of the bond and wasn’t shielding. Still, as he considered what his private thoughts had just been, he realized they were largely unhelpful for what the other man wanted to know. Taking a second look, Albus was struck with the knowledge that Percy was just as frustrated by their inability to have this conversation as he was. 

Severus always said that what was on Albus’ mind was rarely helpful, the fae supposed now he understood the complaint a little more. Percy certainly seemed like he would agree with James’ mate. There was no anger there though, only exasperation and that was completely fond, where the vampire leaned on the sink, towel tied around his waist and arms crossed, but still smiling in his direction.

Percival Graves was not doing this on purpose. He was comforted that this transition would be mutually annoying for both of them. 

“I was, am I guess, surprised by your gentle nature,” Albus finally answer, for once hoping that was what he meant.

Percy smirked again and Albus could tell he wasn’t offended, perse, just confused and surprised himself, now, “Were you expecting me to be a brute?”

“No!” Albus said, then went straight into a sigh, “Oh my God, why is talking to you so hard?”

Gellert laughed at them from the shower, earning a glare from both men, before he went silent again.

“I couldn’t completely avoid you. I mean, you and Abby had basically glued yourselves together when you glued James and Sirius together,” Albus acknowledged, “And we both held government positions, sometimes there was no avoiding it. I only really saw you as the Director of Security for Macusa; you were incredible at your job but you were always… aggressive, hard, stone faced. I guess, I thought you were always like that eventually.”

“Hmm, vampires don’t feel; we’re heartless,” Percy quoted the ancient saying.

“No, that is not what I meant!” Albus said immediately. He did not want Percy thinking he believed in the ancient statement, just because vampires had such a reputation for stoicism.

“I didn’t think it was,” the vampire assured him, staring at the Headmaster, curious now about how his career colored the fae’s perception. He shot up from the sink and backed the redhead into the stone wall behind him, pushing one of his thighs between the fae’s legs, “Does it bother you that I’m not aggressive at home?”

Albus had been standing, embarrassed by the way his comment could have been taken, tying off his towel, when suddenly he felt a wave of curiosity, then Percival Graves had him up against the stone wall of the bathroom, as a huge wave of affection thrummed across their bond from the older wizard. He was staring right at the man’s mouth while it moved but didn’t hear a word of it, “I know you just said something, I’m not a moron. But my empathy just caught me off guard, you’re standing there in a towel, your hair is curly and fluffy as hell at the moment, and I couldn’t tell you a word you said.”

“That’s gonna happen a lot,” the siren of their trio warned him. That much he heard.

Percy just gave a full belly laugh once more, content to take that as a ‘no,’ and leaned in for another kiss, before backing off. Not far, putting only a few inches between them, but Albus could feel his guilt when the man reached up to push back Albus’ own red curls, “I’m sorry for last night, that must have been hell.”

Albus wanted to ask which part, but he killed the words on his tongue. It didn’t matter, he’d been responsible for so much harm. Apparently though, Percy saw the question, he honestly wasn’t sure whether it was in his mind or his eyes.

“I stopped shielding our bond when I saw Harry; that couldn’t have been pleasant. I can imagine it was rather like hell on earth… I  _ do  _ try to be gentle but sometimes… Rage is a vampire’s constant companion.”

“I was fine,” Albus told him, because he hadn’t been in danger, no matter how painful last night was. He heard the companion quote the proverb was, to that which existed about fae’s and regret, but he was skeptical. He had serious doubts that the statement was true for Percy, who he hadn’t even felt a hint of irritation from since he agreed to work at Hogwarts, “My magic twinned with Minerva years ago. When she stopped shielding, now that was painful.”

“I’m sure,” Percy acknowledged, even chuckling at the attempt at humor about one of the worst conversations of their lives.

“Sirius fire called for us,” Gellert told them, finally stepping out of the shower, “At the moment, he’s got Narcissa and four boys, in addition to the Lovegoods, the Longbottoms, and the rest of the Weasleys, that are supposed to meet in Diagon Alley tomorrow.”

“Mary and Morgana that sounds like a threat,” Percival told him, “I’m guessing we’re going?”

“He wants to discuss strategy later today,” Gellert told him, “Making the party larger isn’t going to help, but keeping people in the stores they’re going to, that may prevent trouble.”

“Well then,” Percy said, “You aren’t going. Your first outing, no way you’re going to blend in.”

Gellert glared at the vampire as the man made his escape into the bedroom to get dressed, “While that may be true, shut up.”

Albus laughed, “Looks like you’re stuck with Teddy and Capri.”

“Certainly more intelligent conversation,” Gellert said around his toothbrush, pouting, “Than the two of you.”

They got dressed, Albus stealing from Gellert’s wardrobe until he could get back to Hogwarts, before heading over to Grimmauld Place. The man rarely managed to wear something other than black, but he did manage some greys apparently. They took forever compared to Percy’s ten minutes, especially when he sat on G’s desk, hands in his pockets, looking adorable. He hadn’t bothered to shave and was just in a pair of slacks and a button up, probably for the first time in decades; Albus was being tested.

Whatever the Headmaster was expecting to step out of the floo to, it wasn’t the sight of the twins and Harry, practically hanging off Sirius, as they showed him some sort of plans. Harry was on the couch next to his uncle actually, pointing to certain things every few seconds, while the twins leaned on the back of the furniture over their heads. 

Albus could easily see that he still felt...exhausted, but jittery. Although they now knew how much he took after Lily, seeing his grandson’s charisma from James quieted was sad. 

He was really hoping that the boy would be feeling better by now. Should he? He wasn’t a healer, but it seemed like, between the three of them, he should have had plenty of magic to be stable. Still, the chief warlock was starting to think that space from Percy might actually be the answer, he was feeling better now.

At first he thought it the plans were some prank; after the previous day and what happened to Dolores Umbridge, he wasn’t going to be turning a blind eye to Minnie’s plots anymore. But, then he noticed all the Potter family ledgers, next to whatever Sirius was looking at. Harry only turned fourteen and could have gotten those ledgers last year, surely with the tournament he wouldn’t have? That was hell on earth, all of last year, Harry even said that by the lake.

He quickly moved over to the small table, where Narcissa and Severus were sitting. Capri was upstairs on the landing, the Headmaster could only assume Tonks and Remus had finally taken Teddy home, and the other two quickly arrived after him. Gellert joined them at the table, while Percy took off over to the sofa at the sight of the family’s ledgers, curious.

“What’s happening?” Albus asked the Rosier heir.

“Apparently,” Cissy told her Headmaster, “Harry has been bored with Arithmancy since his third year, and Percy gave Gringotts permission to let him work on the Potters ledgers. He’s more than doubled what the family is worth and he’s given his winnings from the tournament to Fred and George for their joke shop.”

She gestured toward the fireplace, “That is what started his fight with Ron, apparently, although he’s not actually fighting with Hermione. She’s just thought they were jerks, since they broke into Gringotts and freed a dragon using her polyjuice potion that she spent months on, only for them to not bring her.”

“That seemed odd,” Albus admitted, “They were always the closest. Has she been by here?”

“Oh yes,” the siren told him, “Apparently Luna went to get her best friends from the Weasleys’, when they left here, and told them everything that had happened, beyond what the papers reported. Newt brought them back by. Harry’s been running rogue since the start of the summer, since Hermione went on holiday with her parents and didn’t think anything of a potion borrow. He needed a few more vials for an order. Harry got slapped...again; Ginny punched him.”

Albus sighed, “God, he took after me.”

“Sure, it’s all you,” Gellert sassed quickly, he’d never had much time for his fae’s perpetual guilt trip.

Severus would love to say the snort he gave was involuntary but it only seemed to happen in the presence of James’ grandfather. He’d missed the man in the ten years he’d been emotionally bankrupt; since he thought everyone else didn’t think he could take care of his son. The fear of becoming his father was now magnified as he realized that every interaction with Harry had some overcast of doubt about what the other knew. 

If his son hadn’t read his text on the first day of class, he’s less surprised given what he now knows he should have seen about the boy’s home life, then his first discussion was cryptic at best. Ever since, he’d yet to acknowledge Lily again, because Harry always seemed distant and wary of him. He didn’t know what all Lily had told the boy, but it was probably enough that their son decided to keep him in the dark fairly early on. 

If he’d been trying to keep the three most powerful wizards in the world from talking at age eleven, Severus would have been an emotional wreck too. As the adult, the parent, he should have been the one two steps ahead. Instead he’d chosen ignorance and let his son run amuck for four years.

Of course, if he’d found out about that letter, if he or Albus had known who Harry was talking to... But, the boy disappeared like it was nothing. It was almost like he always knew where everyone was going and what they were doing, just like his...

Albus glared at the blonde, then resolved to ignore him, “Do we know who all is willing to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?”

“The team isn’t meeting until Monday,” Sirius joined their conversation suddenly, “So we’ve got Mad-Eye, Tonks, Kingsley, Remus, and Dad and Mom. Plus you three. The rest of us will be there, but we’re going to have the teen terrors to contend with.”

“Excuse you,” Harry told his uncle, “We are a delightful and gracious plenty.”

“You are a giant pain in the arse,” Sirius corrected him, “And not allowed…”

“...to use magic outside of Hogwarts,” Harry chorused the rest, “Yes, I know, you’ve said it at least a hundred times.”

“I caught him trying to duel Fred this morning,” Sirius told the three older men. 

Albus just pinched the bridge of his nose, while Gellert laughed, and Percival smacked their grandson upside the head.

Harry shrugged, “I got over fifty percent of my magic back, we were excited! Besides, you didn’t make us put the charms back on our wands, whose fault is that?”

Sirius charged from the sofa like he was going after the boy. Despite what Harry had been through, he was laughing, easily confident that the man wasn’t actually going to do anything, even as he took shelter behind his vampire grandcarrier. Albus couldn’t help but wonder if he had already accessed a mind healer, sometime since he turned eleven. He’d ask Severus later. 

Sirius Black was no coward but even he frozen when the only way to Harry was through Percival Graves.

The vampire raised an eyebrow at his nephew, “Boy, sit down. You’re still not ready for that.”

“Have you two fought before?” Fred looked confused by the statement, but excited by the idea of such a duel.

“Not really,” Percy clarified for the teen hands once again returning to his pockets as he shrugged, oblivious to Harry sticking his tongue out at his godfather over the vampire’s shoulder, “He and James used to like to swear one day they were going to win in a duel against me; had started saying it since they were ten. When last challenges were called I always had to tell them to park it.”

All the boys, particularly Draco, found the idea of a ten year old Sirius Black trying to stand and challenge the hardened Director of Macusa to a duel, a new sort of hilarious. It was funny, the conjured image adorable, and Narcissa made a mental note to show both Draco and Harry some of her memories. 

Sirius, on the other hand, grinned at his dad’s best friend and his own godfather.

“We didn’t have a prayer, I’ll admit,” he confessed, “Until we found out Grandpa Grindel still had access to his dueling room in Nurmengard. We begged for that duel until we were in the corps.”

“You didn’t?” Albus asked his mates.

“Of course we did,” Gellert told him, “I was not afraid of him; I’d already beaten him once when I infiltrated Macusa.”

Percival turned slowly, towering directly over the seer, “Would you like to tell them, Blondie, about what happened the day you said that to me?”

“No,” Gellert answered honestly with a grin up at the vampire.

“To be clear, I refused to fight him when he infiltrated Macusa, because he was the father of my son and I got held hostage for it,” Percival clarified, just in case there was anyone in the room, most cause for concern their grandson, who didn’t know that fact, “So, when he made that little comment right there, in front of James and Sirius, who were twenty, I drug the smug asshole to that dueling room… And put him on his ass.”

All three teenagers broke into cheers and hollers, the twins turning to double high five with Harry and Draco at the ending. Albus noted that the boy wonder of the group dropped instantly back onto Sirius, he flinched although it wasn’t too noticeable. Pain in his back would have made the victory gesture a bad idea and the gash couldn’t be healed until his magic was stable. Still, Harry seemed far more lively now than when they arrived.

Albus hid his smile behind his hand but beyond his amusement was the realization that Gellert set himself up to be the loser in a story with Percy so easily. Gellert had always been the younger of them two, having just been expelled from Durmstrang for an affair with a male student from his class when they’d met in Godric’s Hollow. 

But, the Headmaster always had a very particular idea of the husbands’ relationship. It never occurred to him that Percy carrying Flea might have been a practicality of the times, since Gellert was, indeed, a terrorist back in the day. Even the vampire Director had a better chance of not being attacked and mating bonds were extremely personal. 

The previous night had shaken his perceptions.

A Gellert that was easily vulnerable near Albus was such an oddity after almost a century, that he was surprised by the sudden emotional weight of the blonde, as well as Percy. 

Gellert seemed to process something about Albus’ thoughts, because he found Percy’s eyes quickly. Albus took a moment to catch up to their silent conversation.

Then, it took Albus longer to realize that Percy had muted their bond. At first, he wanted to get offended, before he acknowledged what he’d just realized. The vampire had been a legilimens for… He realized he still didn’t know how old Percy was either… And then Albus realized that Gellert had shut down theirs as well. Actually, they probably weren’t muted at all, they were just shielding to protect Harry.

If his mating bond with both of them was open for the first time in a century… That was why their pull was playing hell with each of them. Their magic was probably going crazy internally and had been since… They’d all been in Nurmengard together before they gave Harry magic. They had given a desperate teen unstable magic, oh bollocks.

The boy was probably hyper aware as all get out, especially after they’d left last night, if he got the terrible luck of having all three of their dispositions. Their magic would make his legilimency, necromancy, empathy, and sight go for broke. He wasn’t getting the physical embodiments of inheritances like fangs or changes to his eyes, but he was certainly getting the magical backlash of all four.

“He’s actually fine,” Severus said and Albus realized the younger man caught something in his thought even though he was shielding. That made sense. He and his mates were trying to keep their crazy magic from impacting Harry; the headmaster wasn’t trying to keep them, or others, from getting his attention using the method.

“All that unstable magic…”

“It’s been like he’s stoned,” Severus said honestly, “Pain potion at it’s finest and honestly, the only thing that he says hurts is his back.”

“You’ve asked him…”

“Oh, Newt cleared out with the girls around twelve, after that there wasn’t a question Sirius and I didn’t ask about the Dursleys. Remus played lie detector after he sent Teddy and Tonks home.”

“Anything more to worry about?”

“Well, he knows that he’s been… borrowing from Fawkes for a while through his wand; we’ve got to get him one that can handle his adult core. He’s experienced too much now to hope he won’t experiment in higher magics,” Severus acknowledged.

“Sorry,” Albus offered, one more for the pile.

“Why?” the potions master asked sincerely, “I’ve been trying to bounce back emotionally for years and couldn’t do it; the last thing he needed was such an intake of dark learning magic with no contact to his empathic roots. And Sirius hasn’t been cleared by Cissy. He’s got a few more weeks before that would be a good idea for Harry’s persuasive magics or mental health.”

“Well if we’re unstable,” Albus reminded, “It’s not much better.”

“You’re magics are much older, your unstable is still better than most at perfection,” Severus argued, “He’s really fine.”

“He’s capable of graduating now, if he learned to use an adult wand; he knows the curriculum,” Narcissa informed the older wizards, “Apparently it was a thought that he might leave with Fred and George. Sirius threatened to go to Minerva, so you can imagine…”

“He’ll be graduating in two years,” Albus was sure of that much.

“Let the games begin,” Severus voice was far from mirth, but there was some under current of humor returning to him. Albus could hear that he saw the irony, “Keeping him busy is going to be a full time occupation for the next couple years, especially if Fred and George don’t come back.”

Empathy really had been the one branch of magic that Severus didn’t need to cut off relations with; it was his hallow, his driving force. Albus was horrified that so many people were torn to shreds by his and Lily’s plan to get Harry out of the magical world. 

After that weekend, keeping Harry at Hogwarts, while they were waiting for the Death Eaters to be captured that were attacking so many, he’d asked Severus if Harry wouldn’t be safer with his aunt. He didn’t know that after the death of Lily’s parents, she’d asked Andromeda if the woman would act as a muggle doctor and hide out with Harry if something went wrong. 

The Evans had died right before Halloween and Albus and Lily hadn’t had the chance to talk about anything yet. Severus hadn’t even considered Petunia an option because he knew Lily would never suggest such a thing. Of all Lily’s contingency plans, two finally backfired when he and Severus had two different conversations.

And Severus had lost his last connection in giving up his son to the muggle world. He lost his hallow. It was terrible to watch the boy that had been like a son to him… 

God, he’d been so close to Severus and Lily before their fourth year. Then things spiralled so quickly. Now that he was allowing himself to feel again, the young master was just waiting for a sign from his son, any sign that Harry didn’t completely hate him.

The Headmaster and professor reached an uneasy peace after a moment. Something was still the same in the aftermath of Harry’s shake up. Albus still knew what Severus was feeling and Severus still knew what Albus was thinking. 

The man had been struggling since he opened his empathic pathways back up when he saw Harry that first night in the Great Hall. Now that he realized where their disconnect was, Severus was calming on an emotional front. They’d all be fine once the media nightmare cleared.

“His necromancy is really coming in,” Severus disclosed, “Apparently, because he was calling so much on Fawkes when he dueled Riddle in the graveyard, James and Lily appeared.”

“He mentioned that.” Albus disclosed, “We had a basic, what is necromancy, lesson. Has he experimented with it more?”

“It’s still considered dark magic. I don’t think he’s been able to research as easily, not being at Hogwarts. I know it looks like he’s been running blind all summer but he’s really had the twins, Draco, and Neville ready to pull plugs all over the place if anything went wrong,” Severus had to admit, “He doesn’t seem to mess with magics he doesn’t understand.”

“Even down to the timing to get myself and Draco out of there safe; apparently my son had a key to that apartment of James’, had anything gone wrong,” Narcissa said, “Dray knew… all of it.”

“He’s treated this like he’s known it was coming,” Severus finally acknowledged, gaze locked on his son, the thought nagging at the back of his mind, and then his voice raised to disrupt the discussion of joke shops, “As a matter of fact, how long have you had access to the Marauder’s Map? Known what it was?”

Harry looked up from the couch, meeting his eyes, “Fred and George gave it to me my third year.”

Sirius noticed his giddy and hyper aware godson go stiff in his arms. The boy pushed up away from him, sitting up starkly on the couch as he addressed his father. The older animagus could see Severus’ struggle. He had been stuck in Azkaban, he knew what it was like to become void in a magical branch. There was a part of the Black Lord that wanted to reach out and negotiate their conversation, but logically he knew that, if the two were going to move forward, they had to do this themselves.

The potions master seemed to know it too, because he sighed and stood up.

He could only cross his arms and stare at his son for a few tense moments, unsure how to do this. Finally, he settled on crossing the room, and sitting on the coffee table not six inches from the boy, putting them eye to eye. Reflexively, his arm came to rest on his knee and Severus ran a hand down his goatee, trying to remember what Lily would have done now.

Sitting there, he knew the boy’s senses were on high alert, so he gave Harry a moment to process his presence mentally, emotionally, and physically. Some part of his magic remembered his empathy coming back that night in the Great Hall, when he’d wanted to shove all his love and care down the eleven year old’s throat, before shielding himself to protect his son. 

No one knew what Harry’s dispositions were. The vampire professor had his suspicions the more they learned about Harry’s interests. In all the talk of the Dursleys the previous night, inheritances hadn’t come up.

Harry had been struggling to figure out his way in the magical world from the muggle and Severus should have been a resource, rather than an enemy. He had to fix this mess between them. The potions master had been resisting the urge to smother his son, ever since remembering that Harry didn’t have any clue who he was. 

Mistake number one, thank you, Lils.

Once his son’s eyes were less blown, Severus reframed the discussion, “Alright, now, let’s pretend I’m your father and you’re going to answer the question I asked you. How long have you had access to your Dad’s map and known what it was?”

He had been weighed, he had been measured, and his… persuasive statement was found wanting against his vampire father. Harry sighed, “Okay, Dad may have had a vision of Mum giving her letter to Gringotts and my little… He called it a debut in his letter.”

“Oh gods,” Sirius could only run a hand through his hair, “What did that idiot… You know what, it doesn’t even matter. When?”

“When what?” Harry asked him unsure.

“Did he tell you about the map? How to get into Filches’ office?” Severus spoke up with what he wanted to know first, before the mutt could. He didn’t want Harry to feel torn in trying to manage discussions with both of them. He and Black were not known for showing a united front.

Harry seemed to ponder the question for a moment, “He mentioned that ‘Dora’ had lost it her sixth year. She decided to retire that year, the twins’ first, and she assigned them to take over as Hogwarts’ new prankster.”

“A job we’ve taken very seriously,” Fred informed them.

“Hence our adoption of an original marauder’s son,” George finished.

The Potter heir chuckled at their claim, but didn’t argue, “He must have known about Mum’s plan because he sounded like he thought I would automatically know who that was.”

“Oh Moony will never live this down,” Sirius would give his best friend a hard time later.

“Fred and George still had it during my first two years,” Harry said, “I only used it to go to the library at night.”

The older animagus snorted, “You are your mother’s son.”

That made his nephew grin, “I didn’t really need to plan too far ahead until after the diary incident of my second year.”

“I’ve never been so close to killing you myself,” George muttered, thinking back to when Ron and Harry disappeared from the map. When their youngest brothers disappeared as Ginny had, he and Fred had simultaneous aneurysms.

“You would have had to beat me to him,” Fred reminded his twin, “If it wasn’t for Bird Brain.”

“Which reminds me,” George spun to look at Albus, “I am so sorry you have to put up with that.”

Albus laughed so hard at that a tear escaped his eye. Few people could see past the glitter and excitement of a phoenix to truly understand the absolute terror that could be having a powerful magic familiar with thoughts, feelings, and abilities all their own. If the twins had been dealing with Harry and Fawkes’ partnership for two years now, they knew what a true pain the bird could be. 

It still tickled him pink that Harry’s first wand core was from his phoenix. And, although Albus didn’t plan it, it had clearly saved the boy’s life. He supposed he owed the stupid bird, who had detested Tom Riddle’s existence from moment the boy showed up with part of his tail, finding the boy unable to feel love unworthy of his gift.

“That bird’s a menace,” Fred agreed with his twin.

“He has his moments,” was what he offered to the twins.

Severus saw a flash of green from behind him and felt the floo firing. He didn’t bother to move from his and Harry’s shared look as they took in one another.

“Oh good,” Minerva said as she took in the father and son, “It’s about time.”

“You knew who I was in the Great Hall.”

“Yes…” Harry acknowledged, he struggled to describe what exactly he’d been feeling that night, after getting his parents’ letters on the train, “I… I felt you, then I didn’t. But you kept looking at me. And then my scar started hurting; I saw you see it. I couldn’t tell if you knew what was happening or not. Then, in class…”

“That was not the right way to handle that,” Severus owned quickly, “When did you get the chance to read your text?”

“I had all my textbooks read by the end of that first week,” Harry told him, “I just hadn’t…”

“...Had the chance, that makes sense,” Severus told him sighing, finally giving into the urge to run a hand over his face once more, “Most students wouldn’t have. I was… I wanted you to be like your mother but that wouldn’t have happened when you were in culture shock, I should have…”

“I know,” Harry acknowledged his father’s struggle. He hadn’t exactly been an angel to deal with the last four years, “I started figuring out shielding and empathic and persuasive magics my second year. I was… I knew something was happening with me, although the voice in the walls did not help.”

Severus allowed himself to laugh although there was no humor in it, “I would guess not. Have you ever had an inheritance test at Gringotts? Most children have them at two, but we never had the chance…”

“I learned about them my first year but I couldn’t get it done until the summer after second year. According to the Goblins I’ve got parsel, genie, fae, siren, and vampire inheritances.”

“Ugh, you really did get the luck of the draw, kiddo,” Percy told him, where he’d wandered by the back of the sofa behind Sirius, “I am so sorry.”

“How much do you understand about inheritances?” Sirius asked teenager. It was hard to believe there could be any more they hadn’t realized about his nephew, but the Black Lord refused to let James’ mate think that he was in this alone anymore. Whatever problems they’d ever had, it was time to get the village back together, if Sirius and Remus had to seize control of this family by force, so be it. Narcissa and Tonks were on board.

“Anyone is capable of any type of magic given they put in the time, effort and understanding, but inheritances give you predispositions to branches that are easier for you to master,” Harry began.

“That’s from your mother’s dissertation,” Severus offered. Lily had gone into magical development early on in her healing career. He wanted to show his son that he was keeping up. If Luna was right, and Harry seemed to accept her words seriously the night before, then he often felt like others around didn’t understand what he was saying. It was important for him to feel like he wasn’t dumbing things down if he didn’t have to.

“I explored... at first it was just empathic and persuasive magic. Those got me to third year, along with Grandpa letting me have the ledgers. Then last year I had access to the restricted section for the tournament.”

Severus felt his head tilt, “You hadn’t been exploring parsel magics?”

None of the adults were expecting Draco to snort where he was sitting at the bar finishing homework. When they all looked over at him to see his shoulders shake with laughter, as he tried to fight his snickers, “By far the best moment of our second year.”

Harry didn’t find it funny and glared at his mate’s back, “Shut up.”

“Oh please, you enjoyed it too,” Draco said, before laughing at his own upcoming joke, “Until your little hissy fit.”

“Uhh, guys, if you would please,” was all Harry had to suggest, “So Sirius doesn’t have to have a temper tantrum.”

Fred and George doused Draco in water, although that only made the blonde laugh harder. 

Narcissa quickly dried her son off with an eye roll, before the red heads settled back on the bar stools next to her son. She’d quickly learned that, whatever their relationship started off as, Draco had also been adopted by the natural big brothers. Apparently it was one of the few titles that motivated them besides being pranksters.

“I’m going to allow that,” Sirius started, “On the trade that one of you tell me what in Merlin’s name you are talking about.”

Finally, Harry leaned back on the sofa, away from his father. He was nervous to tell this story if he stayed looking at the vampire. Sirius had his arm around the back of the seat, so he leaned back on the other animagus’ arm, and met his eyes before starting, “Okay, my second year he hired this useless idiot named Gilderoy Lockheart to teach defense.”

“We are still waiting for that apology,” George looked right at the Headmaster as he said it.

McGonagall and Snape chorused, “So are we.”

“He tried to erase part of Newt Scamander’s memories,” Albus told them, “But we didn’t have proof. I am sorry, but I suffered him as much as the rest of you, quite frankly.”

“Wait until you hear who he’s getting for this year,” Gellert told the boys, then shut up. 

The twins and Draco locked eyes on the Headmaster, like the answer was going to appear on his forehead, as the dark teen continued.

“So,” Harry said, also looking at his grandfather curious, “At one point the idiot decided to start a dueling club and the second greatest duelist of his time, over here, got assigned to it with him.”

Severus was surprised that Harry knew that. Lily absolutely hated dueling; the pacifist never bragged or took pride in her husbands… competitive demeanors. The information was definitely from James.

“You have to understand,” Harry told his godfather, “I had been in the muggle world, Hogwarts, or with the Weasleys. My first trip to Diagon Alley had just been with Hagrid, we talked about that last night, so the next year, when we walked into Flourish and Blotts, I wasn’t expecting this idiot to pull me in front of cameras.”

“He didn’t?” Sirius growled.

“Oh he did,” Severus said, “I’ll admit, I was already pissed long before we got to the dueling club, that year.”

“So, you’ll recall this was the year you tried to expel me,” Harry reminded his father.

“I was not... “ Severus sighed, “I see now, why you did what you did. But, at the time, you’d just driven a car into the whomping willow!”

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his godson, who blushed.

Severus didn’t even hesitate, “I just wanted to scare you into never doing something so stupid again… We see how that worked out!”

“Fair,” Harry chuckled, he knew the incident looked bad, “Anyway, dueling club. So, we walk in, and Lockheart was being a cocky asshole. We all wanted to see him suffer. Then he walked in.”

“We wanted to cheer,” Draco offered, “It was like the second coming of Merlin.”

Harry laughed, “We were friends by that point, Dray had seen Dad’s letter. So, naturally, we could barely contain ourselves as he beat Lockheart’s ass for an hour. The only justifiable moment of that damn useless year in classes with him. It was phenomenal!”

“The rest of it wasn’t that bad,” Draco reminded him.

“Yeah, right! Do you remember our second year after that shitshow?”

“What went wrong?” Sirius asked.

“Well Lockheart drug me up to duel when he was sick of getting beat up.”

“I had no idea where he was magically, but he had perfect marks in charms, transfiguration, and defense his first year,” Severus disclosed, “Cissy and I kept Draco one year ahead, so I grabbed him.”

“He told me to throw it, if things got out of hand on the way up,” Draco told them.

“Even I wasn’t expecting his first cast out of the gate to be a fifth year defensive spell,” Severus told them, the glare he sent his son that was playful if anything.

“I thought it was from third year!” Harry said, fake forlornness, as if he’d said it to someone a million times. 

“Well that didn’t help me, did it?” Draco asked the other Peverell heir, “So, I conjured a snake to throw everything. Low and behold it went after the pyromaniac and, before Uncle Sev can vanish the damn thing, Harry starts talking to it.”

“I didn’t know, damn it!” Harry said, “I thought all wizards could talk to snakes. There were so many other things to worry about! I mean… I had already started picking up empathy, I am dreading turning seventeen...”

Albus felt for the boy, “If it’s any consolation what you’re feeling now is as strong as it will get on your birthday.”

“That’s actually comforting, but still, knowing what everyone around me was feeling all the time, was kicking me in the ass. Between classes and the attacks, then the voices in the walls, I was already about to have a melt down.”

Sirius snorted, “Fair, now this was after Draco found out who I was? Yes?”

“Yes, but before Hermione got petrified,” Draco answered, “I was helping them brew polyjuice in the bathroom on the second floor. We thought the entrance to the chamber would be in the Slytherin common room, but we needed to search, and they couldn’t be under the invisibility cloak and help me.”

Severus groaned, although he also felt extremely proud. He had no idea Harry had known about his and James’ history as dueling partners, but he was excited by the knowledged that he’d done something to impress his son. He wanted to deny that he’d, in any way, been showing off, but he tried not to lie to himself too often. Lockheart had been overdue for a good kick in the arse anyway.

That his son managed such a potion, even with Draco and Hermione helping him… He wondered if Albus would like him make the boy’s grades right? That had gotten out of hand, Harry and Draco keeping their cover, and Severus not investigating or stopping them like he should have.

“Anyway, I thought talking to animals was normal!” Harry said, “I’d always been able to talk to snakes. He had to explain Isolt Slytherin marrying the Vampire Prince to start the Prince line, to me while we brewed it.”

That explained if Harry ever realized that he was, in fact, also an heir of Salazar Slytherin.

Draco snorted at his mate’s ignorance of his own family magics. Still, he probably wouldn’t have fared much better in the muggle world, where Harry and Hermione still threatened to banish him when he got sassy, so he kept his mouth shut. And, processing the story, he realized that took them up to their third year. 

“Then third year I was working on perfecting shielding so that I didn’t get caught and searching for horcruxes,” Harry told them, “Fawkes was letting me use an extra tail feather when I needed to. We were also figuring out the whole animagus thing, that year.”

“I’m sure that was a nice surprise at the end,” Cissy put in, eyeing her mate up and down.

Sirius winked at the mind healer.

Albus was well aware that the need for an extra feather shouldn’t have even been an issue until this coming year, earliest, in other children. He could have made an argument that it might have been a necessity last year during the tournament. But, knowing he wound up using the whole bird by the time the duel with Voldemort happened… They needed to get Harry an adult wand and a familiar, if they could find something, fast.

Minerva chuckled from her seat between Albus and Cissy, “Which reminds me…” When Harry looked up at her the witch smiled, “Let’s see it.”

Harry grinned and was, for all the world, about to honor her request, when Albus, his mates, Sirius, and Severus all screamed ‘no’ right as the floo fired.

When the light stopped blinding them, they looked at Harry to find he’d frozen, rather than transforming. Minnie tisked in her best friend’s direction, “You told me to…”

“I know!” Albus hissed, gesturing to Harry, “But we’ve all put unstable magic into him. He tried to duel Fred earlier, thank God, Sirius stopped him. Between a wand that can’t handle him any more and our magics bringing out his natural dispositions without the embodiment to bear them…”

McGonagall’s eyes went wide and she looked back at Harry; the boy was also bug eyed as they processed how dangerous attempting the transformation would have been. She blinked slowly at him, “Well, we’ll have to take it slow when you come back.”

Harry nodded, feeling dumb for having almost hurt Fred. Hermione would have killed him. He thought about transforming to rescue Teddy. He’d been so disoriented by all the noise and he hadn’t even gotten that last boost from Grandpa Gellert… He remembered going down thinking if he didn’t transition back he was done for. That had been a good decision, rather than trying to take less of the impact in the larger form, and transitioning back later. 

“We know that you’re feeling okay,” Severus told his son, “But you have to let your own magic reach full capacity again; then you need a new wand. One that can actually handle you without having to high jack his familiar all the time.”

“His own familiar contact would also help,” Albus put into the conversation.

“I’m sure Newt will come with Luna,” Sirius pondered.

“I’m sure he will, I’ll tell him to bring the case,” Albus said rolling his eyes, “Although I can’t imagine anyone around here being a difficult fit.”

Percy grabbed Harry’s forehead with his hand, pulling the teen back to look at him, where he hand wandered behind the sofa, running his fingers through the dark curls, “He means you, brat!”

“Thank you, I got that!” Harry said, pushing the vampire off, “It’s really not my fault.”

“No, I blame your dad,” Percival told him, grinning as he kept walking the room, “Your mother was never this much trouble.”

The Headmaster was quickly realizing that Percy was always moving. He wasn’t doing it because he was hyperactive, as Albus had believed of James upon their first introduction, actually the older vampire had one of the calmest presences that the redhead ever felt. But, he was coming to understand, that the Peverell heir and Potter Lord used it to compensate for issues, like the fact that he didn’t blush. 

Movement helped people read the vampire and feel comfortable around him, hence the exaggerated movement. That was probably a very standard need when he worked in service to the public for… Albus had to ask about the man’s age. It was something Percy had gotten used to doing early on as an auror. James had never been hyperactive, the boy had just imitated his body language after his grandfather, long before he ever needed to.

Albus laughed at the comment, “You clearly were not there the day she brewed that heritage potion. Abby and Orion got so cling, I had to step in and keep them from uprooting her whole damn life. Then, she turned fifteen and God, I thought she, James, and Severus were going to take the whole school down with them.”

Severus opened his mouth to defend the three of them, then realized he had nothing. They had made Albus Dumbledore’s life hell those last three years. Between the man trying to manage Lily and his brother fourth year, their mating fifth year, along with his and Jamie’s tragic coming out incident that year… He’d really thought that nothing could be worse than that year, until the forced induction Lucius, as Head Boy, led the Slytherins into sixth year and becoming a spy for his adoptive father. They really had made that man’s life hell; he was sure their eloping seventh year in secret had been a relief after the rest of it.

Instead he just acquiesced, “Fair.”

Finally, Remus stepped away from the fireplace and stopped taking in the room, “Nice to see nothing is on fire.”

“Why would you say that?” Sirius demanded, “You’ll give them ideas. They were trying to duel this morning.”

“My gods,” Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, “Harry, you cannot…”

“Do magic outside Hogwarts,” Harry chorused with him again, “I know! This would have gone a lot faster if someone had just said I could hurt somebody until my magic got built back up.”

“You could hurt somebody,” Severus hissed standing up, “Cool it.”

“Fine,” Harry said, hands going up in surrender, “That wasn’t so hard was it?”

To be fair the boy had the good since to dodge behind Remus before Severus could even whip back around to his direction. 

The werewolf just laughed, hugging Harry, and moving out of the way before Tonks stepped through holding Teddy. The blue haired tot got a hug from his Kitty and disappeared upstairs to Capri; the teens followed them quickly. Albus noticed the first thing Sirius did, when they disappeared, was throw up silencing charms.

“That kid is a tank,” Sirius groaned, massaging his temples.

“Five inheritances,” Severus muttered, “My gods, I’ve never even heard of that. I’d never even heard of three when James got stuck inheriting as a vampire, siren, and genie.”

“Where the bloody hell did the genie come from again?” Remus asked, collapsing on the sofa next to Sirius. He was surprised when Severus moved to his other side, but the werewolf said nothing, afraid to upset whatever new peace had been established.

“Lyra Black, Euphemia’s mother, freed and married a genie she fell in love with. She was a believed squib and disowned at age ten,” Sirius said immediately, “There’s not a whole lot of pre-disposition he can get from that though, other than being good a transfiguration.”

“Achieved,” Minerva pointed out.

“So, sand magics can just smack him at sixteen,” Sirius groaned, “Anything besides empathy on the fae side?”

Albus thought about it, “Well, especially with him already having parsel as a disposition, he might start communicating with other animals. Newt would be able to help him.”

“No physical changes with that one, right?” Remus didn’t remember for sure.

“No, unless he gets twinkle eye,” Gellert said, only for Albus to pinch him. He grinned, it was worth it.

“Siren’s almost over…”

“True,” Gellert cut Sirius off, “But, sirens are like vampires and werewolves; tied to the moon. Technically he could still experience physical changes until one moon cycle past his birthday; so August 31.”

“Changes?” Severus asked the blonde.

“Attractiveness tends to bloom, but that’s very personal for every siren; it just helps with persuasive magics. Eye changes happen more commonly with seers and I know he’s been worried since the end of school. He likes having Lily’s eyes.”

“Nothing painful or harmful then,” Albus sighed, “What are the pre-dispositions from the vampire side?”

“After that boost from me,” Percival said, “Keep an eye out for too much interest in advanced legilimency too quickly. And maybe interest in necromancy, but he can’t really do anything with that until he’s twenty-five. It’s pretty tied to that birthday or lethal situations.”

Sirius laughed and leaned to see Severus behind Remus’ sandy blonde skull, “So, watch him!”

The potions master nodded, “Indeed.”

The clock on the wall finally struck ten and Cissy started to move into the kitchen, Tonks following her, “Time to get tea ready.”

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Albus asked Sirius.

“Narcissa won’t let Draco go without her and Molly’s on high alert too,” the Black Lord groaned, “So I have no idea who’s willing to…”

“Oh, Gellert already offered to watch the kids,” the redhead told him.

“Since he can’t exactly blend in,” Percy pointed out, as he finally sat on one of the bar stools.

“I’m allowing this treachery because I can’t fight you both at once,” Gellert told them with a pout.

“According to the history books,” Percy started.

“You can’t handle us apart either,” Albus finished.

He glared at both his mates over Minnie’s head, “I thought you two couldn’t even communicate; can we go back to that?”

“No,” They chorused. Being around Harry was, apparently, making them all feel better.

Both of their magics were almost restored from what they’d given to their grandson and they felt more in control of themselves. 

Percy winked at the headmaster and turned back to Sirius, “What stores are you going to have to visit?”

“Gringotts, Madam Malkins, and Flourish and Blotts are all definites,” Sirius thought, “We can send everything home ahead of us. Check it when we get back.”

“Apothecary and Potage’s are probably next,” Remus suggested.

“Strike them,” Severus instructed.

“What?! Your son will…” Sirius started, they’d just had this debate last night.

“Draco gave me a list of his orders this morning,” the potions master disclosed, “I’ll take care of it.”

“Fine, but if he has a fit, I’m sending him to you,” Sirius raised his hands in concession, “Then there’s Scribbulus, Ollivanders, and the Menagerie… Oh and Gambol and Japes’.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Remus yelled, “No, it’s not necessary.”

“Remus, you were there last night! Was he lying when he said he was going with or without our permission?”

The werewolf blatantly refused to look at his best friend, pouting and crossing his arms. These kids were ridiculous. Teddy had a better sense of self preservation.

“That’s what I thought! We’re putting someone in the damn shop.”

Tonks eyebrow lifted, where she and Narcissa were returning from the kitchen, “They threw down over the joke shop and not Broomstix? I’m genuinely surprised.”

“Especially with Harry becoming Captain,” Minerva pointed out.

Sirius rolled his eyes, “The twins research is more important, apparently. Plus, I saw the catalogues he and Draco were looking at. Trust me the lions are hunting this year. He won’t risk shaming you in the stadium.”

It was a sarcastic little quip, but it still made the transfiguration professor smile. 

“Put Gambol and Japes just after Scribbulus,” Severus suggested, “Then everyone else should leave before Ollivanders and the Menagerie.”

“No, I don’t think we can count on that. The Lovegoods will stay for the Menagerie. But, we need to have his wand before the familiar. Neville will be trying to stay until Harry leaves. And the twins are sticking with us until, if, we didn’t get a definite response on that, it’s time to go back to school. I don’t think Molly will leave until all her kids are out of there safe.”

“So we’ve got Alastor, Kingsley, Remus and Tonks, and Minerva and Abby to spread around stores. Oh, also Hagrid, he also offered to help,” Albus verbalized, “Then the two of us.”

“This party is too big, we need to have people stationed in the shops, and send smaller parties into different shops at the same time,” the Potter Lord told them.

Albus almost wanted to point at him, just to highlight the transition between Percy at home, and when the Director came out. He restrained himself barely and the vampire was already up, moving around the room as he talked.

“You, Narcissa, and Draco could be one party, while we send Harry and the twins with Severus. Voldemort’s forces are so fractured now, if he’s scrambling to harm specific people or just do harm, multiple small targets are to his disadvantage,” Percy kept thinking, “That would leave Molly and Arthur with the girls as a final party.”

“Only Sirus’ party really needs to get things sorted in Gringotts,” Albus pointed out, “If everyone meets there, we should be able to start a rotation while they get custody and names changed.”

“Have people stationed in the shops as appropriate and then meet at the Leaky Cauldron by lunch to get out of there,” Gellert told them, “The party will be so large, with individuals from the shops joining you when the shopping is done, that once everyone convenes no one will attack you.” 

“I’d recommend having Percy and I in Flourish and Blotts; from there we could get to the Menagerie and Ollivander’s before you lot,” Albus told them, as the planning continued, everyone trying to figure out where to assign individuals.

“Why the book shop?” Sirius asked confused.

“We have some requirements to drop off anyway,” Albus froze awkwardly, he didn’t want to ruin Percy’s announcement.

The vampire rolled his eyes at the Headmaster’s thoughts; he did not have the same exhibition kink that both faes and sirens seemed to. He had no interest in some long drawn out sensation over his retirement, “I agreed to teach at Hogwarts; I sent in my letter of resignation to Macusa last night.”

The uproar of cheers that unceremoniously broke Sirius’ charms from the outside made them all jump. They quickly realized that the teens must have been listening from one of the vents, rather than the stairs. Sirius glared at the one vent to a room which fulfilled that possibility knowing that’s where the absolute children were.

“May I?” Severus asked the animagus.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at the vampire but then smirked, “Be my guest.”

“Oh my God,” Remus muttered, “They’re gonna run away tomorrow and never come back.”

Percival gave a genuine laugh. He looked down at the redhead for several seconds, where he was standing behind the wizard’s chair in the corner of the room. Finally, once he’d decided, as the rest of the room was trying to hear up the stairs for Severus’ expected blow up, he leaned down and wrapped his arms over the headmaster’s shoulders, whispering in his ear, “My mother, Isolt Graves, went into labor at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve in 1799; my twin sister, Guinevere, and I, we were born on New Year’s Day of 1800.”

Once his mind was free to think about other things... Absolutely anything other than what had just happened, unholy bollocks. The vampire couldn’t just do things like that in public! Thank God, Percy was still ever merciful and moved off into the room as soon as he’d finished talking... Albus was well aware that Severus wasn’t going to blow up at his son.

Admittedly, no one had really had a good yell at Harry just yet, unable to be anything but relieved that he’d managed… all of this. But, their Little Prince, as Abby used to call him, was definitely present in the ruckus, and if anyone deserved a good yell at what all the teen had been hiding, it was Severus. Still, he doubted the boy would actually yell at them, he was too... exuberant, was the only word Albus really had for it, as he headed to the stairs. 

He didn’t need to see into Severus’ mind to see that Harry’s story of his second year had gotten to the man. If he’d stopped shielding his empathic presence from the boy, then he’d probably felt Harry’s absolute wonder at Severus’ dueling that the memory conjured. It was a good start for them.

The floo fired once more and when Percival Graves looked up from the flash he was nose to nose with his second in command.

“You can’t do this to me, Percy,” Tina hissed at him. Albus noted that the fae had deaged and he was excited to see Newt tomorrow.

“Tina, we’ve been planning this for years…”

“No, no, no! This is not your call to make!” Tina shouted pacing between the fireplace and Graves.

He laughed, “It kind of is, actually. It’s literally my person that’s leaving.”

“Absolutely not, I forbid it!”

“You cannot do that either,” Percy informed her, gentle and charming as ever, hands going back into his pockets.

From his corner of the room behind the table, Albus spotted Harry start to come out behind Severus on the second floor landing. Realizing the Goldstein sister was there, the boy did an about face, pointing with both hands, for the other teens to go back. Somehow, even though the auror was facing the fireplace and not the stairs, it was too late.

“Freeze!” Tina shouted, “And then get down here, because you’re next.”

“I hate being next,” Harry muttered, head and shoulders dropping as the twins tried for consoling, “It means she’s saving actual energy.”

Queenie Goldstein arrived as the teens descended into the room to sit by the bar with Tonks and Cissy. The teens took in the room as Severus dropped back into his spot on the couch, examining the inner workings of one of the twins’ eavesdropping ears. 

After a moment the aged Goldstein sister sat down between Gellert and Minerva, clearly interested in the spectacle the two offered, and started whispering to the seer, “Has she forbid it yet?”

“Only just,” Gellert told her.

“She’s been a wreck all day.”

“You’re not upset?”

“Ehh, it’s not the first war we’ve lost.”

Tina pinched the bridge of her nose, oblivious to them, “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“Damn it, Percy, how could you not talk to me first?”

“We were prepared for this, perfectly excited about it at one point, as I recall.”

“Yeah, and then you gave me hope! You stayed! Now you’re just gonna say it was all for nothing?”

“I feel like you are being very dramatic about this, Tina. It doesn’t even have to concern you, if you don’t want it to.”

“Are you saying I can be replaced? Just leave me at Macusa and make new friends at your new job?!”

“You know damn well that’s not what I meant,” Percy told her, “You know I would never.”

“Good, because if I  _ ever  _ found out that you had another work wife, I would not be responsible for the hell I’d unleash.”

“I swear, other than the redhead I’m mated to; he can’t count.”

“I’ll allow it but barely,” Tina glared at the Headmaster before turning back to her friend, “Damn it, Perce, reconsider! We still have time to fix this!”

Percy took her shoulders gently, “Listen to me, Tina. I’m moving back to Europe to be closer to the family.”

The woman whined.

“You and Newt don’t have to move back! You don’t have to commute to Macusa. You have just as much of a stronghold in the states with you as Director, as when I was in the position!”

“Oh please, be realistic! He’s been whistling God Save The Queen all morning!” Tina made a grand gesture toward the fireplace, “While packing up the menagerie not so subtly! We were supposed to retire together when Harry and the blondes gave us grandchildren! Why would give up the dream now?!”

Draco and Harry shared a look. Only Luna’s grandmother.

“Tina, it’s over. The Europeans won the ground, let it go.”

“Ugh,” She muttered disgusted, “I knew the day you told me who your mates were, when you escaped and came back, that we were gonna end up moving. I should have quit and divorced Newt to day Flea announced he was coming back here!”

Slowly she turned toward Henry Jr. and raised a perfect eyebrow at the boy, “But here we are… And what a tangled web we weave…”

“Now, Nana Tina, I know you’re pissed but I just wanna say one thing first,” Harry started.

“Were you, or were you not, responsible for an injured dragon that wound up on my front yard one week ago, as a direct result of the only successful theft from Gringotts?” Tina asked.

“Is this an interrogation?” Harry clarified.

“No,” Tina assured him, “It’s a family discussion off the record.”

“Fine. I still think the individuals who injured the dragon are responsible in the fullest sense of the word,” Harry told her.

“Fair,” Tina let him have that one, “Were you, or were you not, responsible for the capture and imprisonment of Peter Pettigrew.”

“A man who made many mistakes decided to do the right thing; I don’t see where that’s linked to me.”

“Were you, or were you not, responsible for the removal of over two hundred, suspected, dark marks via the use of defensive dark magic.”

“What evidence could there possibly be of something like that, after all, it’s defensive dark magic.” 

“Were you, or were you not, responsible for the challenge issued to the most notorious and psychotic Dark Lord of all time, some present individuals, who shall remain nameless, excluded, via that same magic?”

“You know, I’ve had a problem with repetition since the siren inheritance started; the spins are the worst.” 

“Were you, or were you not, responsible for the injuries sustained by five active deatheaters, also werewolves, who were attacking muggles for blocks around here three nights ago, one of whom was Fenrir Greyback, using an illegal animagus form?”

“That one was all me, yes, it was,” Harry told her in the exact same voice, “And I’ll tattoo on my forehead before you arseholes will take it away from me.”

Tina rolled her eyes at the honesty, “They were caught a block over by a team from the ministry; Lord Scamander’s Special Operations send their regards to all.”

“How is Theseus?” Albus asked after the old Gryffindor and Head Boy from his professor days. 

“He had the audacity to walk into my house at dawn and ask if it wouldn’t be a good idea to start a menagerie at his brand new place, where he’s not even unpacked, just in case he ever needs to babysit. Like I don’t know what their fucking game is,” Tina all but growled, gesturing to Percy, “His letter had just fucking gotten to Macusa; the ink was barely dry!” 

She turned back on Harry sharply, “Say what you want to stay, but just know that it will not stop me from tearing you a new one once you’re done.”

“I choose to believe you,” Harry told her, then said in the same solemn tone, “If you can get me off this continent, I will transfer to Ilvermorny tonight.”

She blinked at him slowly once, then twice, “Oh my precious baby, come here! Nana Tina has been so worried! And Luna has been a wreck! I was just…”

As the adults around him went ham, Harry just kept playing the rubix cube game with Teddy, then Capri, while the adults got things under control. Draco finally made it back to his precious homework, he was still pissed the Potter’s was done, but he also might have been dying Dray… The Unnecessarily Aggressive. Later, he was going to have to explain to Sirius why his math was absolutely one hundred percent wrong in at least three placed on the twins’ business plans... 

Severus just shielded, catching his son’s thoughts. The boy’s legilimency was flaring from Percy, but it would be gone by tomorrow, it was barely there now, just a hum. Now there was a conversation with the mutt he wanted to take part in.


	5. Liberty, Love, & Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family takes their first outing to Diagon Alley, but Harry's had a vision. The Peverell Lines are sworn to protect all the things worth living for; liberty, love, and life. And he's going to end this, one way or another, but he's never alone in that endeavor.

The morning of their trip to Diagon Alley, Harry woke up feeling so much better than he had since his debut started. His vision from the previous night couldn’t be changed, so he chose to be excited about the opportunity. Not knowing how something ended had never stopped him before; why now? 

He knew instantly that his magic was back where it needed to be and the boosts in his system had dissolved; thank Merlin. There would still be a grace period with his new wand, but at least he could show off his animagus form to Professor McGonagall without blowing himself, or anyone else, sky high. That was a good warm up.

He hopped up to go and see if the witch was already in Grimmauld Place. Everyone seemed to come in and out of here fairly often, so there was a good chance. 

But, when he got out of the bed, his pajama set was about four inches too short all the way around. Generally, he considered himself an intelligent person, however it still took him several moments of staring at his hands and feet, to remember that he was still gaining his siren inheritance. It was something out of the Addams family, seriously.

Panicked, the animagus sprinted over to the connected bathroom and its mirror, shutting the door as quietly as he could. The twins were still asleep and Draco had finally been banished to his own room the night before. Narcissa Black threatened lives and everything. 

Looking in the mirror, he was relieved to see that his eyes were still the same. Green, bright, and just like his mum’s. Anything else he was fine with.

The rest was… surprising but not unwelcome. He had cracked the six foot barrier during the night and had added muscle that definitely was not there the day before. No wonder he was ravenous. The curly quality of his hair was the same but it had grown out overnight. It wasn’t long, but now the bottom strands touched the tops of his shoulders. His scar was there, but was so faded that, for a moment, he’d thought it completely gone. That made sense, as his potion had removed the horcrux from his body, and he simply hated the blasted thing. 

Turning around, his tattoo was still pristine and where it should be. The chances of it disappearing with his inheritance were slim, but there; he’d just wanted it that night in case… Yeah, just in case.

So, an extension charm on his clothes should last him until he could get new stuff today. It was fine. But he couldn’t exactly cast said charm without it defeating the purpose, or his godfather having a stroke. Grabbing what he wanted to change into, and leaving the now too small shirt behind, the teenager poked his head into the hallway. Lady Luck had returned to him as he spotted Narcissa in the hallway.

“Aunt Cissy!”

Narcissa jolted at the title. Not that she objected, of course, they just hadn’t addressed each other by anything particular in the last couple days. Everyone was still adjusting. She smiled, “Good morning, sweetie. Sleep well?”

“Yeah, but I’ve kind of got a problem now.”

“What is it?”

He stepped out in the hallway and she couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her. The boy was at least as tall as Sirius now, “Well, won’t that be a nice surprise for everyone.”

The boy huffed and held up his clothing, “Nothing fits and if I fix it…”

“Yes, can’t have that can we?” Narcissa asked him, pulling her wand, “Protego diabolica, sure, but an extension charms? Sirius would just die.”

When she was done, Harry simply dodged into the hall bathroom near them and emerged dressed, throwing the too small pajama bottoms back onto his bed before following her. She was a little surprised how easy the boy seemed to fall in next to her, but was sure that was more on her own mind than his. Taking him in, she commented, “It’s nice that it fixed your vision. Sirius was worried, as even James only needed reading glasses.”

His hand flew to his face and he froze to his spot in shock. He’d been so relieved to see green that it hadn’t even occurred to him, when he didn’t need to grab his glasses. 

“You didn’t realize?” She asked him at the top of the stairs, as the prodigy started moving again.

“I was just glad the color hadn’t changed,” Harry told her honestly.

“Your grandfather mentioned that was a concern.”

“I heard, the traitor!”

Narcissa laughed, “I don’t think it was meant as such. You all have to stop spying though.”

“Fair, we’ve been a little… Well, I’ve been jittery since the other night.”

“Sensible; you were prepared to die for others. Returning to daily life was bound to be a struggle. Especially since you’ve gone from an orphan leading a band of teenagers, to someone with a… Vivid family to answer to.”

“This used to be just keeping Mrs. Weasley from finding out,” Harry disclosed, before realizing. Harry laugh, unoffended by the fact that Sirius probably told her to check up on him, “That’s right; you’re a mind healer.”

Her perfect eyebrow raised as they crossed the living room.

“Draco told me; he’s the one that made me go see someone before my third year started.”

“Huh, I didn’t think he paid attention when I talked,” Cissy admitted. She gestured to his middle, “I also thought he didn’t know about…”

“He didn’t!” Harry didn’t even let her finish, defending his mate, “He knew it wasn’t great but never that there was physical violence.”

Before they entered the kitchen, the witch told him, “Alright then… My grandmother always told me that he was insecure about his eyes the first few years.”

“Insecure, Grandpa Gellert?” Harry asked, “I’m skeptical, I’m not going to lie.”

“Understandable,” Narcissa offered, “But that was the legend. They were blue when he was younger; he didn’t like them until he met your Grandpa Albus and then later your Grandpa Percy.”

Stepping into the kitchen Harry was grateful for the natural halt of their conversation.

Sirius, Remus, and Severus were sitting at the kitchen table facing the door and froze at the sight of him. They had only thought the boy was his father’s mini-me until that moment; it was… disorienting. Their shock caused the deathly trio to turn around, while McGonagall and Aberforth looked up from their opposite ends of the table. 

The only one not in shock was Percy; he’d dealt with wanting to do a double take everytime he looked in the mirror for years. And not just since Jimmy’s death, but also when he lost Flea. Reflections were hard things, hoping it would be his son or grandson there, instead of him. 

“You lot are going to give him a complex,” he informed them, “You look handsome, kiddo.”

“Yes, very handsome, Little Prince,” Abby told him, jolted by his best friend’s comment.

Harry sighed in relief and sprang to sit between the two, at the corner of the table, as everyone started to give affirmatives. His transfiguration professor gave him a smile before returning to the Hogwarts staff’s discussion of assignments, making sure the hours spent on the topic the afternoon before, hadn’t left any gaps. 

Draco had finally given Hedwig back the night before, after he got a return note from Blaise saying that he’d meet them at Gringotts, so the Zabini had been assigned to Sirius’ party. Harry knew that his godfather was nervous about him going with Severus’ party and for once it wasn’t about their issues. But the Gryffindor was confident, now, that his father wasn’t going to let anything happen to him; neither would the twins for that matter.

Hermione, Luna, and Ginny wound up being assigned to Mrs. Weasley and Augusta Longbottom, while Mr. Weasley and Xenophillius Lovegood were taking Neville and Ron; the girls had adamantly refused to seperate, forcing the adults’ hands. Glad someone besides him was doing that, Harry had also gotten a firecall the previous night to highlight just how incandescent his best friend was at this placement. But, Sirius had promised that the Longbottom heir could come back with them, so their factions hadn’t rioted. Harry’s inner strategist had to agree that having a party with only him under seventeen was smarter and safer for everyone.

Sirius was quickly learning that the boy was not the unreasonable hothead everyone wanted to think. The Potter heir just wanted the information necessary to participate fairly in a discussion about him. The Black Lord could work with that... Gods, he was turning into his father. 

Harry had also made them swear to have Hagrid in the menagerie with Newt, adamant that the half giant had to be there when he got his familiar. 

All the children had also been assigned an emergency buddy; someone to get to to side apparate away if things went south. Since Albus and Percy were going to be following Harry’s party from the moment that they left Flourish and Blotts, the Headmaster had insisted that the boy’s be him. If something went wrong, Harry being safe in his office had everyone agreeing; wasn’t like the boy didn’t know his way around the place! 

And Fawkes, who was in the corner with Hedwig, would be able to get him to Hogwarts if Albus got attacked. 

His… lover, he supposed, but mate was also applicable if the man didn’t mind him claiming the status now, but they hadn’t actually talked about it. Did they need to talk about it? Gellert didn’t need a talk; they’d had that sorted back in ‘99. What was it that Percy always said? Mary and Morgana? They were over a hundred years old. Albus hadn’t been aware that relationship status was something he could still be insecure over until this very moment…

“I realize you are one of the greatest minds in the world,” Severus spoke up suddenly, “But sometimes I wonder how.”

Aberforth busted out laughing, “He’s not as smart as everyone likes to make him out to be, I assure you.”

Albus offered a rude gesture to his brother over Percy’s head.

“Either works,” Gellert told him quietly, where he sat on Albus’ other side. The man blushed and the Dark Lord quickly rejoined the conversation about assignments.

Thank God, their vampire had been shielding.

Percival had demanded two months to figure out just what the hell the kids knew and to get them all to the same level. Given the mess that had been the last few years of teachers, Albus had happily granted the request. They had all arrived to Grimmauld Place by seven this morning, as Minerva had demanded they get all the vampire’s paperwork done prior to going over assignments.

So, now, he had two lists in front of him. One was Percy’s reading requirements and the other were the suggested assignments for those stuck in stores. Gringotts had been easy thanks to a couple last minute additions; Bill was still in town and working today, while Fleur was going to visit her mate. The veela had also mentioned that their other mate, Viktor Krum, cared about Harry a lot, apparently they’d become work out buddies as both had gone through Quidditch withdrawls the previous year, and insisted on being there. 

Madam Malkin’s was impossible to station someone in, so the adults with each party were just going to have to pay attention.

He and Percy were going to be in Flourish and Blotts. Despite his protests about the teenagers’ demands, Remus and Tonks had been placed in Gambol and Japes, as Sirius argued that if anyone could stop shenanigans from Severus’ party it was a Marauder. Minerva and Aberforth were going to take Scribbulus, while Newt and Hagrid were taking the Menagerie.

Newt and Tina had been planning to travel with their son-in-law and granddaughter throughout the day, but once Albus explained their overpopulation issue, changed plans. Instead, Tina was going to stay at the external part of the alley with Kingsley and Alastor, looking for trouble. It would make sense for them to get together in the aftermath of the legendary Percival Graves’ retirement. 

Harry was laughing at his father’s comment at the Headmaster’s expense, eating more than Ron could manage. Despite knowing that he needed to eat yesterday, this was the first time he’d been hungry since everything started. He was busy listening to the adults and didn’t notice his grandcarrier’s gaze until a hand ran through his hair.

“It’s grown out,” Percy acknowledged.

“Yeah, I like it. I’ve always wanted to wear it longer.”

“It suits you. Give it a few years and go for a beard; I used to wear a similar style before I deaged back to thirty-five when your Grandpa Flea was born.”

“Why did you stop if you liked it?” Harry finally got the chance to ask the man he’d idolized for years. He had a list of questions, but he’d always had to worry about drawing too much of the vampire’s attention, “And why don’t you ever age?”

Albus was curious too. Even when Percy had dressed quickly the day before, he still slicked his hair back. And, when they finally went back to Nurmengard the previous night, Gellert had harassed the vampire into shaving, although their seer didn’t seem to care what Albus did with his face.

“I wasn’t allowed,” Percy told him easily.

“What?!” Harry demanded. He couldn’t imagine anyone that could make his Grandpa Graves, vampire Director of Macusa, and super wizard, do anything… or not do something, or whatever.

“Sometimes it’s just easier not to argue,” the man informed him, “You’ll understand when you get married.”

Albus and Harry’s eyes flew to Gellert, just half a breath before the others at the table, and found that he was blushing. Albus didn’t even think Gellert could do that anymore, no more than Percy could.

“I don’t know why I ever married you,” The previous Dark Lord complained.

Percy laughed.

“Someone please explain what in Hel’s name you two are talking about!” The anticipation was killing Harry now.

Gellert sighed but couldn’t deny that adorable face and those big green eyes, “I met this idiot in 1901. He was aged to around forty-eight at the time. He had curly hair and a full beard and apparently having a mate didn’t mean jack to most individuals working for Macusa at the time. A couple years later he started to grey a little and then it turned into a real nightmare. So, when we decided to have Flea, I made him go back to thirty-five and nagged him until he agreed to stay between there and forty. I tried to argue for thirty or less but it was ‘unprofessional’ apparently.”

Harry, Aberforth, Sirius, and Remus all busted out laughing at the thought of Percival Graves being nagged into submission by an irritated and jealous Dark Lord. 

Minerva and Albus both chuckled through an eye roll. She wasn’t close to the blonde but had been Albus’ work wife for decades now and could imagine the terror he could bring forth as a mate through proximity. During the decade Percival and Aberforth didn’t speak, when Harry was in the muggle world, Albus had been Gellert’s main way to vent any frustrations the blonde had about his husband.

Severus just rolled his eyes, shielding so he didn’t have to hear the man that was like his father, when the fae Headmaster’s thoughts were curious about the Graves that Grindelwald described. 

“Jimmy always went with the greaser look and never liked facial hair though,” Percy told his grandson, “You may not like it either.”

Harry could only stare at his grandfather surprised, “Did Dad go by Jim?”

No one was expecting the vampire to freeze and for Aberforth Dumbledore to start laughing so hard that he almost fell off his chair. The older wizard kicked him under the table but it only made his hysteria worse as the younger Dumbledore instructed, “No, you’re gonna tell him! I’ve waited decades for this story to come out!”

“What?!” Harry demanded excited, “What!?”

“Nothing!” Percy told him.

“Liar!” Abby accused still laughing.

“I despise your existence,” The Potter Lord hissed at him.

“Join the club,” Albus and Gellert told him in chorus.

Harry was staring at him with the biggest eyes and Percival was weak, so, pinching the bridge of his nose, eventually he sighed and told the stupid story, “Okay, your Dad had started Hogwarts but the heritage potion incident of fourth year had not occurred yet. Your Grandpa Orion and I worked together fairly often, since he worked in the ministry. There was this joint conference held in the states between The Ministry and Macusa; your Grandpa Albus had to be there too.”

Aberforth busted out laughing again at the comment and that was Albus’ first warning as to why the brat enjoyed this story so much. He could feel an eye roll coming.

“Are you going to let me tell this story?” Percy demanded.

“I’m trying, but it’s my favorite story!”

“Ignore him,” Percy instructed, “So we were in the lift and Copper Top was trapped in there with us. He’d been in a depression since Lily was kidnapped and seemed to deal with it by ignoring everyone in the family… Well, you never got to meet Grandpa Orion but if you knew the two of us, see we were… Well we tended toward…”

“They did not tolerate being ignored well,” Abby said easily, where Percy was struggling, “This one still doesn’t.”

“So, we’re standing there. And we shared a look... And then Ori just starts asking me how Jimmy had done with his summer quidditch team. It was a perfectly normal conversation for us to have! However, we’d never called him anything other than James until that moment... But, if you could have seen this one’s pretentious, snobby, overly academic face when we called Gellert Grindelwald’s heir Jimmy…”

Aberforth and Harry both busted out laughing, the outrage on Albus’ face only making the story funnier.

“I say all this to answer your question,” Percy finally finished, “He went by Jimmy to me, Grandpa Orion, and most of Macusa picked up calling him Jim when he was commuting, but no one you would have encountered called him that.”

As everyone calmed down, Harry wiped the tears from his eyes, and finally remembered what he’d been excited for all morning, “Do you still want to see it?”

Minerva looked over to the boy, before processing that the comment was directed at her. She smiled, “You’re sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Excuse me,” Sirius said, “No! Absolutely not!”

“It’s wandless magic,” Harry emphasized, “It’s not gonna hurt me!”

“That’s true,” Severus told the mutt, afterall he had only seen it briefly when Teddy was in danger, “The boosts are out of his system.”

“What part of ‘No magic outside Hogwarts’ is so difficult for you people to comprehend,” Sirius asked them, “And half the rebel rousers are bloody professors!”

“Alright, Orion,” Remus said to his friend, “Calm down, he won’t do it.”

The utter incandescence that took over Sirius’ face was priceless, “You take that back!”

Aberforth had to look up toward heaven to stop himself from bursting out laughing.

“If the overly Victorian, bureaucratic shoe fits…” Remus told him, waving the Black Lord off.

“I don’t care if he does magic all day long,” Sirius told him, “As long as he gives you absolute hell in Gambol and Japes! Don’t you even speak to me for the rest of the day! How dare you, you…”

The man carried on and Harry grinned broadly as Remus gave his permission with a wink. Taking a deep breath he took a step away from the table and transformed.

Having Minerva McGonagall gasp loudly at the sight of him was one of the greater moments of his life quite frankly. 

She stood up from the table and slowly came over, running a hand through his mane. It was softer than the witch was expecting. The boy was almost as tall as her and all but took her breath away for several moments. She could only imagine if James had gotten to be here to see this moment, “Very impressive, indeed.”

Hearing the delighted chuckle behind her, the witch rolled her eyes, “Albus Dumbledore, wipe the smug off your face.”

“He’s been like that since the ambush,” Abby warned her, “I don’t think it comes off.”

The noise summoned the twins and Draco into the land of the living, as well as the kitchen. It was cute when each of them petted Harry automatically, in no way surprised by him not being in human form. His mate was a little standoffish, but the Potter heir was sure he’d just gotten wind of Harry’s vision from the night before across their mating bond. Draco processed things in his own time though, so, Harry was sure, the blonde would find him when he was ready.

Narcissa got the other teens settled with breakfast, while Severus and Sirius both started reviewing the emergency procedures established the day before with the recently awakened three. Remus took off for home to see if Teddy was awake to bring him over, before he and Tonks had to be in Gambol and Japes. 

Getting bored with the discussion, Harry decided to go into the living room. He transformed back and sat down at the chessboard he and Draco had set up the previous night, on the small table in the corner. Staring at the pieces, he watched the day play out before him over and over.

As Albus, Minerva, and Percy got caught up in talk of the school year to come, Gellert also got bored. Seeing his grandson leave the room, quiet as any house cat despite his enormous size, he decided to follow the teenager. He stood in the doorway, just watching the boy stare at the unmoving chessboard, for at least half an hour. When he finally came back to the moment, everyone in the kitchen was still distracted with their own conversations, so finally, he moved his first piece.

The Potter heir jumped and glanced up to see who was in the room with him wide eyed. Seeing that it was his Grandpa Gellert, he looked back at the board. After a moment of contemplation, he made his first move.

Only then did the Dark Lord cross the room to sit with his grandchild to play chess.

“You’re not going to make it to the Leaky Cauldron,” Gellert told the fifteen year old.

“I know,” Harry assured him, elbows coming to rest on the table.

His calm demeanor made the older seer smiled sadly, “I swore if I’d known about the other night I’d have stopped you, or told you a million different things. Now, I find myself… completely useless.”

Harry laughed, “I don’t think that’s something you’ll ever be… I mean it’s you!”

Gellert smiled sadly, “Some days I’d rather not be.”

Harry understood that, but he stared at the man, “You are still The Liberator! Things may have gone wrong, but you found two of the hallows. You gave the cloak to Grandpa Percy, you gave the wand to Grandpa Albus! Even if you played with it for a while first.”

“Ehh,” Gellert told him, “It was never my hallow.”

“I know you never found it,” Harry told him, “Do you still want to?”

The older seer shook his head, “Merlin no, absolutely not. Being married to Percy helped me accept, so did your dad being born, that nothing reawakens the dead. Anyone I ever wanted to resurrect… We’ll have another conversation, one of these days on the other side. Death is no easier than life.”

“Right,” Harry grinned, taking in the board.

“Are you nervous?”

“No more than the other night.”

“Do you want me there?”

“Are you going to wigg out if I decide to use dark magic?” 

The derision in his voice left no room for excuses, but his grandfather hadn’t planned to give any, “That wasn’t about the dark magic.”

Harry felt his eyebrow raise, “What was it about then?”

Lost for a moment in his own history, Gellert finally sighed, “When we had Flea, I thought I was in the right. By the time your father was born, I was imprisoned in Nurmengard. James was always interested in what I’d done, but I lived in fear for him everyday. I was so afraid he would either follow my path or have someone curse him because of it… Finally, Voldemort, claiming my legacy, did just that.”

Harry had always suspected that his blonde grandfather held himself responsible for his parents’ death. As if the fact that his legacy was out there could possibly force someone to follow it. But, the older seer had religiously avoided this discussion since they started communicating.

“I didn’t know about your debut, I didn’t have a vision of it,” Gellert confessed, “Until you were standing there in front of me… I know they all thought you’d told me about it, but when I watched you on that stage, with you standing right there in Nurmengard before me…You took so much from me in that moment and I was terrified of it... But I owe you an apology.”

Harry sat there shocked, he hadn’t thought that he’d ever actually get an apology from the man. He wasn’t really even expecting it, once they’d proved they could move on from their fight. It wasn’t imperative that he tell anyone else he and his seer grandfather had never actually fought over anything before that morning in Nurmengard.

“And I was sorry from the moment I realized why you did it,” Gellert told him, “I didn’t realize that part until Severus showed me. The vision, it was detached. It just looked like you… I thought you were trying to reclaim some part of my legacy after your parents’ death at his hand and I never want that for you. You are so much smarter and stronger than I ever was… But, you did it to free your father and that is not something you should have ever been asked to apologize for. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, we’re fine,” The teen assured him, reaching for his hand across the table. After a second he let go, leaving only a small pebble behind, and reminded his grandfather, “You being there wouldn’t change anything.”

“No, that part’s true,” Gellert conceded, “That used to be comforting when I was younger.”

“Inevitability?” Harry asked.

“Yes. Just…” The siren huffed, not knowing what to say for once, just staring at the little rock Harry left in his hand, “Remember your family is always with you.”

“Always,” Harry agreed.

The floo fired signalling the arrival of the whole Lupin family and marking the end of their conversation. 

The noise also summoned the rest of the family from the kitchen, which let Teddy run for his godfather as the smoke cleared. Hoisting his younger godson up, Sirius finally spotted the two seers, “Come on, you two, we don’t have time for the chess match of the century. It’s time to go!”

“For the best, I suppose,” Gellert said standing, “I know when I’m beat.”

That Percy and Albus both snorted earned a glare from the blonde and a laugh from their grandson.

“You and Teddy are going to stay with Grandpa Gellert,” Narcissa informed her daughter as she led the two year old into the room, “We’ll be back once we get Draco and Harry’s school things.”

Capri gave an irritated huff, upset that she wasn’t being allowed to go on this trip. Annoyed at the world the toddler marched over to the blonde Dark Lord, petulantly raising her arms in demand to be picked up.

It made Gellert laugh, as he instantly bent to retrieve the girl, “You are your Grandma Vinda incarnate.”

That seemed to perk the small blonde’s interest, “You knew Grandma Vinda?”

“Yes,” Gellert informed her, glancing away to keep from getting emotional, “She’s my best friend.”

Suddenly, he found himself face to face, literally, with Capri as she leaned her forehead against his and their noses touched, her little hands coming up to his cheeks. Vinda’s great-granddaughter ordered him, “Tell me everything.”

“I want to know too!” Teddy said, abandoning his godfather to join his best friend, pulling on Gellert’s pants.

“And that is our cue,” Remus said, “Let’s go before anyone changes their mind.”

Albus could barely contain himself as their party started toward the entrance to Diagon Alley. They had all been shielding most of the day, preparing to be in such a high stress situation, but when Gellert had been left holding two small children, he’d never felt such strong emotions from Percy before. The nostalgia and longing that had come from the vampire had only been there for maybe five seconds, then the feelings were martialled back under his shield by shere for force of will.

Tonks, Minnie, and Abby had gone ahead of them all, scouting for trouble. Sirius and Remus were leading their group, with the twins happily following the two remaining legends of the Marauders, chatting and looking every bit like their excited kids. Behind them were Harry and Draco, who were walking side by side with their father and mother respectively. Severus had mentioned Harry’s invention of a new form of wolfsbane to Albus and Minerva before they left the previous evening; so the fae was sure that’s what the two were talking about.

Finally, he and Percy were walking a few yards behind them, bringing up the rear. Once he was sure the others couldn’t hear them he asked, “Do you want another one?”

The Graves scoffed, “Now is not the time to be having this discussion. New topic.”

“No, no new topic,” Albus insisted, “Lily always said there is never a good time to have a kid. They don’t stop life from happening.”

“You keep that in mind the next couple years,” Percy instructed him, “Luna gets pregnant, I’m letting you handle it.”

“I’m not saying let’s encourage the teenagers to start having them,” Albus rolled his eyes, “But you definitely got a case of the feels looking at him with Capri.”

The vampire groaned, “Yeah, okay, I did. Look, let’s see if we can survive this outing with everyone alive before we start talking about more procreation, please?”

“Fine, we’ll talk about it tonight once we get home; G should be here anyway,” Albus told him. When Percy rolled his eyes, he added, “As long as you don’t try and name the kid Jim.”

That made Percy bust out laughing. 

Albus grinned and scanned the sky; Fawkes was just ahead of them. Out of sight of most, but never his human’s. Despite what Fawkes had been doing with Harry for the last two years, he was genuinely grateful that the creature had been protecting his grandson. Nothing was going to happen to Harry on the bird’s watch.

When Minerva had asked him if any adults knew what was going on with the teenagers, if Gellert hadn’t cut him off, he’d almost said Fawkes had. He was grateful for his mate, looking back on it. The comment probably would not have been well received by his second given the entirety of that conversation and she probably would have wound up slapping Albus a third time, thinking he was being a smartass. He was confident that Harry was going to be fine now, he and Fawkes were both here. 

So, Percy was just going to have to have their conversation later… He hoped beyond all hope, anyway.

Harry and Sirius barely made it into the alley before the cameras started flashing. All the kids and adults went stone faced until they were able to escape into Gringotts. With their arrival at the bank everyone else moved to their assignments.

Once everyone made their withdrawals, Severus’ party would be the first to go to Madam Malkin’s, then they were heading for Scribulus. So, Minerva and Aberforth made themselves comfortable in the small store to wait. There weren’t any other patrons inside this early, most wrapped up in the spectacle that had been the Black family’s re-emergence to glory. 

The younger Dumbledore missed his mate profoundly. Orion had always been good with publicity as a necessary evil and managed it beautifully. Sirius might not have wanted to do the same, but Aberforth was grateful his son’s training and capabilities enabled him to handle this storm.

“Aberforth, can I ask you something?” Minerva spoke up, where she was looking at multiple sets of stationary, trying to pick what she wanted for the school year ahead.

“You were my husband’s work wife for your entire ministry career, you became my brother’s when you changed careers, and I’ve been supplying you free alcohol every Friday since James and Sirius were sorted,” Aberforth reminded her, “What do you want to know?”

“I know Albus tends toward depression and isolation when things go wrong,” Minerva started, “But, when Lily died… You never demanded that Graves use his political power to let you confront Sirius. From what I understand after the last few days, when he didn’t come back to Europe after they died, the two of you cease contact until we knew Sirius was innocent and you wrote to him.”

“All those factual statements,” Abby pointed out, “But there has yet to be a question there.”

“Why did you demand it of your brother?”

Sometimes the witch knew too much and he didn’t like it. Still, it was something he’d long had to make his peace with, as the tournament, then Voldemort, became their biggest threat over the past year, before Harry’s little debut started. He thought hard about how to start, “Do you know why I couldn’t stand Gellert Grindelwald?”

Minne rolled her eyes at him, “Everyone knows why you can’t stand him.”

“No, no,” the older wizard corrected her, “Before that! Do you know why I picked that fight on the lochside that day?”

When she looked at him confused, “No. It’s never come up.”

“Albus had been like mine and Ariana’s father for years,” Abby disclosed to her, “Even before our father killed those muggles… The day Ariana was attacked he came back drunk and was enraged. He sure as hell didn’t do what he did to help my sister. The only good thing he ever did for her was to keep his mouth shut later… But Albus...”

“I followed him around Hogwarts like he was Merlin; I couldn’t tell you how many fights I started and Albie did the finishing. When he graduated I was already… displaced. That’s a good word for it. Then my mom died and…” He sighed frustrated, “I couldn’t stand Gellert Grindelwald because, at a time when I needed my ever steady big brother, Albie found his first mate and suddenly didn’t have eyes or time for anyone else. I was jealous.”

Looking across the street he spotted Severus leading the kids into Madam Malkin’s, “The only time we’ve gotten along since, is when we have someone else to take care of, together. When Ori finally went to him and agreed to use the potion, we were so excited. Then Lils was kidnapped and it all went to pot again. She came back though and we finally had our family again, until that Halloween. After that…”

“... I’ve always expected Albus to put me first, if there was not someone younger for us to protect. I expected him to never ask me to choose between my children, even at the expense of his own pain. He loves Sirius, he does; I’ve seen how what’s happened killed him. But, despite all my worries and fears, Sirius wound up so much my son, fuck Walburga, that it’s painful some days. All the while Lily… “ He looked down at his nails, cleaning imaginary dirt from his thumb.

“She was all Albie’s. She looked at him like I did during my Hogwarts days and it gave me hope; I was thrilled for them, just knowing she was alive and safe at school with him,” Aberforth disclosed, “I should never have asked that of him. It wasn’t… If he was that far gone, I just needed to see it for myself. If Sirius couldn’t be saved. But, I knew better than to ask that of Percy. Maybe I was just trying to reclaim our youth; I still wanted there to be nothing Albie couldn’t or wouldn’t face for me, if Lily was gone and he’d given Harry up to the muggle world.”

“You should tell him all of this,” Minnie suggested.

The younger but aged Dumbledore snorted, “If you haven’t noticed, we don’t do the talking thing.”

“That much is, in fact, apparent,” She acknowledged. Then another thought struck her, “You said the first time you caught Harry sneaking out, you thought he was just proving he could do it… I think, knowing what I do now, that you thought he was rebelling by coming to your bar. But, Graves said that he came once a week. What was your excuse every other time?”

Aberforth busted out laughing, “How are you not running this outfit? You are so much smarter than the dolt.”

“Answer the question.”

“It wasn’t… We hadn’t spoken since I asked him to let me confront Sirius. It had been a damn decade. When Harry walked into my bar, he knew where he was. He knew who I was. He was with friends and I just thought… Gods, if there is anything that kid wants from me, if he can still be curious enough to come here despite my insistence that Sirius had to be innocent…” Aberforth chuckled darkly, “If that kid wanted anything of me, anything at all, I don’t think I could deny him. So, I kept my mouth shut, because that seemed to be what he needed; a place they could be that wasn’t school, that was outside Albie’s domain.”

Severus walked in with the teens and bolted for the other adults in the otherwise empty shop, as the twins helped Harry pick out his stationary for the year. From what they gathered, from the vampire’s typical grouching, the day was going perfectly fine. The redheads were getting restless as they were almost ready for Gambol and Japes and Minerva could tell from his tense posture, her friend was regretting not having another adult join them.

The three teenagers headed for the animal stationary, Harry seemed to be looking at the lions from what Minerva could see. Not subtle, but certainly powerful.

“No, don’t do that,” Fred was saying.

“He’s right, it’s too easy.” George agreed, “Get something with a snake on it.”

“That’ll bug old Dumbledore,” Fred agreed with his brother.

“Get something with an obscurus,” Aberforth offered, unable to resist, “He’ll have a stroke.”

“Aberforth!” Minerva scolded. 

“He’s the one that taught them to be pranksters,” Aberforth reminded her, “I’m just helping the cause.”

Harry didn’t take the bait, and ended up going with a simple set with a bold and raised ‘P’ on it for his family name, but the twins bought several sets with the creature. Abby did make a mental note to warn his brother that was coming; he wasn’t trying to cut their contact for another decade. Severus seemed sad to move out of the shop and knowing where they were headed next, he understood.

Harry and the twins, on the other hand, all but flew from the stationary shop to their future competitor. Remus spotted them the moment that they came soaring through the doors and cursed James Potter for not being here to suffer the next generation with him. Tonks was on the other side of the store but only seemed more energized by their arrival from her place on the ground level. 

The werewolf noted immediately that Severus was sticking to Harry like glue; he wasn’t surprised given how few people he was sure were in the other stores at this time. Gambol and Japes, ever the exception as kids had to go somewhere while their parents shopped, was filled to the brim with screaming age ranges of terror. Still, he could also see that the potions master was trying.

In addition to keeping an eye on the dangers around them, he was also actively participating in whatever discussion their research was yielding. The twins started to argue with one another over the ‘All Seeing Eyes’, although even Remus’ ears couldn’t pick up the subject of their disagreement, and he saw the Slytherin quickly take the product, explaining whatever it was they’d misunderstood. While his ears were pretty useless in this shop, his eyes were still in perfect condition, as Harry took advantage of his father’s distraction.

He didn’t seem to be actively looking to escape, Remus noted, as the boy moved into the center of the shop, looking at the displays there. It wasn’t a good spot to avoid attack, the older wizard thought, and he was certain the teenager, who’d pulled off what most adults would be afraid to try, knew that. Getting ready to descend the stairs and go to Harry, as Severus was still explaining things to the twins, the Marauder slowed upon spotting a bright blonde head a foot away from his nephew. He decided to let the mates have a moment together.

Harry had known that Draco was coming the moment his mate made the decision. He’d had a vision of where to go as soon as they walked into Gambol and Japes. So, when the blonde came up next to him, Harry just put his hands in his pockets and faced him, still not quite sure what to expect.

“Just walk away,” Draco demanded, “I’ll walk with you to Flourish and Blotts, we’ll tell Dumbledore and get out of here; me, you, and Neville.”

“Hmm,” Harry tried to consider the possibility, “And when I come back because I won’t let them cut down ‘Mione? What then?”

“We’ll take her with us!” Draco was serious and desperate as he pleaded, “Let me do it! Let Neville! There are people who love you and want to protect you! Let us!”

“Why would I let him cut down any of you when it’s me he’s after?”

“Damn you!” The blonde turned away but faced him again quickly, “Do you always have to shield everybody?!”

“Yes.”

Draco glared at him for a long moment, arms gesturing widely, “Why can’t you just be king? Fat and happy in a castle somewhere and let the rest of us do the worrying?”

“If you’re king on the board,” Harry reminded him, “You are but a servant to the board.”

That did it. Draco broke, tears running from his eyes. He pulled the dark teen down to him, for once in their lives, claiming the Potter heir’s lips in a kiss that was as desperate as he was. He hadn’t managed to sneak away from a marauder to walk away without this, if he couldn’t walk away with Harry.

Harry let the blonde set the pace. Even when the kiss ended, Draco didn’t pull away. He could still feel soft lips against his, as lightning flashed in those eyes of liquid silver, when his mate commanded, “I’m begging you to  _ fight _ !”

The blonde spun on his heels and took off back out the door of the shop, where his parents were just arriving looking panicked. Blaise was beyond the door and waiting on his best friend, before Harry could even process what he’d said. He saw his Aunt Cissy make a gesture to her son, who was already back outside, and himself, all while locking eyes with Harry’s own father. Harry looked over in time to see his dad, pinching his nose, before both Slytherins mouthed ‘Your son’ at one another, and the woman left after Draco.

That didn’t seem to be enough for Sirius, who made a gesture toward Harry, looking somewhere past the boy who lived. When he turned and realized that Remus was standing at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor, Harry knew the werewolf must have seen their exchange. He doubted anyone heard them over this racket, even a werewolf, though. 

So, when the sandy blonde made an ‘off with you’ gesture and Harry’s godfather was forced to leave with an eye roll, the teenager was relieved, “What was that about?”

“I… He…” Harry let out a huff of irritation and ran a hand over his face, “Just working out a… issue.”

Remus couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sounds about right. No one said mating was easy.”

“Sirius is going to kill me,” Harry said, then jabbed a thumb in his father’s direction, “He’s going to kill me!”

“If that’s the only minor detour you two make today,” Remus told him seriously, “They’ll both be ecstatic.”

“That’s it, I’m screwed,” Harry told him with a sigh, “I only knew he was heading this way… It’s not even been five minutes.”

“Don’t worry so much,” Remus told him, “They’ll get over it; our parents always did.”

“Thanks,” Harry said sincerely, releasing a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. 

Remus never made him feel bad for not being able to control everything. Even when others didn’t mean to, if something unhappy occurred, even if he wasn’t blamed, Harry still felt guilty. And he just didn’t know how this was going to go, but that didn’t mean he could avoid it either. What was it that Luna’s grandfather always said… If you worry, you only suffer twice; why didn’t more people listen to that man?

“You know,” Remus had been trying to think of how to say this for a day now, “If you wanted to go to Illvermorny… Not have half the staff as family, not deal with magical Britain’s atrocious media policies… If you wanted to just get to be a student for your last two years at school, everyone would understand.”

“Ugh, Remus, did you not hear the lot yesterday?” Harry asked with a genuine grin, “That’s not going to happen.”

“Sirius has custody of you,” Remus reminded him, “And if I have to twist his arm so be it, but you deserve that freedom. You deserve to just get to be a fifteen year old kid.”

“Dumbledore blatantly said that he wouldn’t sign the transfer,” the boy reminded, still grinning.

“As long as you have Percival Graves and Aberforth Dumbledore in your corner… The blonde might try to go rogue but Sirius is in charge of his probation. And we’ve got Sirius, so we’ve got them all,” Remus assured him, “Albus Dumbledore will sign whatever he’s told. If you want out of Europe, I promise I will make it happen.”

Harry stared at him for several long moments, just looking. Fatherhood became the man. Sirius had finally gotten the Potter will released today and he’d seen it. All his mother’s plans for him had something happened to his parents. No mention of the Dursleys’ existence. 

He couldn’t help but wonder what his life would have been like if he'd wound up with Remus, who’d been next on the list after Sirius and Andromeda Black. He wondered if that one change would have brought Remus and Tonks together sooner. Wasn’t much point in what ifs, other than a nice thought, and that it certainly was.

“Moony,” He told the man, “I said it to get out of a thrashing from Porpentina Scamander. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

“Good,” was all the werewolf said before dragging him into a hug and wandering off back to his post.

Upon his return to his party, his father was indeed bitching up a storm. The potions master immediately began moving them out of the shop and on toward Flourish and Blotts. As they were leaving, Harry happened to look up and spot Tonks; he could only assumed she took the high ground on the other side of the store when Remus descended. He thought her eyes looked extra glassy, but returned her merry wave gladly.

Flourish and Blotts was a real experience. Cameras were absolutely everywhere and Harry was miserable. Severus let the boys explore, knowing who was watching, as he’d spotted Albus upstairs, although Graves was evasive. 

He moved off to try and fight his way to the counter for Harry’s school books. Fred and George had finally said that they weren’t going back, when they got to Madam Malkin’s. From what he could see, the kitsune legacies had been debating it right up until that moment. The twins ran for the potions section, interested in some of the solutions that their old professor had described for making the eyes at Gambol and Japes’. There were few true chemistry based texts, but he’d promised to get them more. 

So, while they were doing that, Harry wandered over to the charms section, then transfiguration, and on to care of magical creatures. He almost didn’t get anything in the last, because he assumed he’d have to go back once he found a familiar. Still, Newt Scamander’s latest book won out, as he’d just end up getting it anyway. Finally, he wound up in the Defense section. There were, honestly, a few new texts in the area that he actually wanted, but, after putting them in the pile, it wasn’t why he was there.

From where he was standing, he could see into the Dark Arts section, without anyone knowing what he was looking at. Cameras were still everywhere at his back and, although what happened in Yorkshire was all word of mouth, as he pointed out to Luna’s Nana, him heading over there was not happening, not today. He wasn’t sure who would kill him, but someone in the family definitely would; in fact there would probably be a line.

“What do you want?”

He jolted from his mental book list so hard that he didn’t even recognize the voice until he looked over and actually saw his Grandpa Graves, “Huh?”

“What do you want from that section?” He asked from his place next to Harry, one hand still in his pocket, where the other was looking through the boy’s book pile. To be fair, he knew aurors who had never read this far into advanced magics; the texts were impressive. All of them, maybe with the exception of Newt’s own, were so advanced that he was a little… intrigued by what the fifteen year old would ask for.

“Umm…”

“It’s not a trick question,” Percy assured him with an eye roll, “Tell me what you want and I’ll get them to bring back to Grimmauld Place.”

Shaking the surprise from his person, Harry told the man what he had wanted. The newly hired professor was surprised by how reasonable the list was by comparison; he needed basic texts on understanding necromancy and legilimency. He smiled at his grandson, “Easy enough.”

“Wait!” Harry grabbed the man’s hand as he started to walk away.

“What is it?” Percy asked him, refusing to let his surprise show, lest it be misconstrued as resistance to the contact.

“I… Would you… Could you…” Harry was angry at himself for stumbling, “If something happens today, please don’t let him get involved. I… It’s not going to change anything.”

Percy took in the boy for a moment. He wasn’t panicking or afraid. Vulnerable, yes, but not desperate. “Vision?”

Harry sighed, it was easy to forget who the man had been married to for damn near a century, “Yeah.”

“Alright,” Percy agreed, “You may want to get back to your father. He looks like he might strangle the manager.”

“The real question is,” Harry turned around quickly, “Do we stop him?”

They managed to get out of the shop fairly quickly, after Harry extricated his father from the manager’s presence. There were still two hours before lunch, so the other parties had started to settle with one another at Florean’s for a non-traditional mid-morning snack. It also gave the other teenagers a place to hang out, since they’d all boycotted leaving before Harry had a wand and familiar.

Sirius was a little surprised when Harry shook hands with Blasie Zabini. They had done it earlier that morning, but he hadn’t thought past the gesture as a greeting. Now, it was a warm regard.

Narcissa snorted, “Honestly, Sirius, they are two of, what, ten non-white kids at Hogwarts? They’ve met.”

“More like nine,” George said, “Now that Angie’s graduated.”

Sirius gave the passing teen a dirty look for the commentary before turning back to the conversation at his table. He was sitting with Xenophilius, Severus, Cissy, Remus, and Tonks at one table. The teens were all trapped at the tables between the adults. Neville, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Draco were all sitting at one of them. Ron had refused and was sitting at another table with his parents. 

The twins wandered over to stand behind their sister, while Blaise took a stance behind Draco and Neville, and Harry stood next to him, between Luna and Hermione. On the teens’ other side was the table housing Augusta, Aberforth, Minerva, Albus, and Percival, who had spotted Tina’s party two businesses down at an outside table. Newt and Hagrid wouldn’t arrive to the alley for another hour to get to the menagerie.

Percival chuckled as, even over the noise, his natural legilimency picked up Narcissa’s comment through the teen that settled near him.

“What?” Albus asked him.

“Nothing, Narcissa was talking about Hogwarts’ lack of diversity,” He said honestly.

“It’s the only school almost as controlled by pure-blood bureaucracy as Durmstrang,” the Headmaster acknowledged. He hated that reality but it existed.

“Is Harry close to my nieces?” Percival asked him.

“Who are your nieces?” Albus asked him.

“The answer is yes,” Aberforth went ahead and answered, “He means the Patil twins. Parvati had him trained to braid her hair every morning and evening shortly after being separated from her sister. I know because by the time he started coming by once a week, he always made a point to be back in time to do it.”

“Takes after Guin that one,” Percy chuckled at his niece’s gumption.

“Oh, their orders came right from the top,” Abby assured him, “Your sister must have known about the muggle world plan, because she told the twins if they didn’t take care of their cousin then she’d not let them come home for the holidays.”

Albus had never really been jealous of his brother, but in that moment he was truly resisting the impulse to kick the other wizard in the shins. He tried to focus on something else, “Harry looked upset when he grabbed you earlier. Is everything okay?”

“He’s fine,” Percy assured, “Just letting a vision get to him. It happens.”

“Have you lot heard about what happened in Gambol and Japes?” Abby asked them.

“I’m afraid to ask,” Minerva admitted.

“Oh, Sirius was having a right duck,” The younger Dumbledore admitted, “Apparently after they left Gringotts, Draco decided he simply had to see Harry and Blaise created a diversion. Well, Siri turns around and his son is gone. You can imagine that Narcissa was hysterical. The boy apparently caved readily enough and told them where he was heading. They get there, Harry and Draco are having a row in the store, snogged, and then Draco took off out of there with no explanation.”

“If that’s the worst they manage today,” Albus told them “I can die happy.”

“Don’t tease,” Abby instructed.

“Why? There’s no joy in this life,” Albus reminded him, “Best two years of my life were before you were born.”

Minerva rolled her eyes, “Alright, who is taking him to get his wand?”

“He wants Albus to do it,” Percival told them.

“Why?” Abby asked his best friend with mock outrage and confusion.

“You’re just pissed off because he likes me better,” Albus said, already getting up. 

“If it wasn’t for Bird Brain, he’d have had not a use for you the last four years,” Abby told the scarlet maned pain in the ass.

Albus flipped the brat off behind his back and went to collect Harry. The boy seemed fine enough breaking from his friends to go to Ollivander’s. Neville wanted to go but Harry waved him off, saying the Longbottom heir should come to the menagerie instead.

As soon as they were gone from hearing range Abby turned back to Percy with a raised eyebrow. The dark wizard rolled his eyes, “He’s hoping if they philosophize at each other, they’ll leave him out of it.”

“Yes!” The younger Dumbledore cheered.

Minerva sighed, that man was so lucky that he was her alcohol supplier.

Walking into Ollivander’s was a real blast from the past, Harry had to admit. The small narrow entryway leading to one desk with thousands of wands held behind it. Dust everywhere. And just as the door shut behind them, that damn rolling ladder came barreling down.

Garrick Ollivander gazed at Harry, though not by as much now that he’d broken six foot, smiling like a madman, “Oh, I’ve been waiting for this all day!”

“Garrick,” Albus couldn’t help but grin back at the man, stepping forward to grasp hands with one of his oldest friends.

“Oh Merlin, we’re never going to get out of here,” Harry complained.

“Oh don’t be dramatic,” Ollivander instructed him, “I’m sure we can find your adult fit in a jiffy.”

Albus snorted, drawing a raised eyebrow from his friend and a glare from Harry. He just shrugged, “It’s not you, Gar, it’s him. Boy’s been highjacking Fawkes for at least two years.”

“Really,” The man said, appraising Harry, “Hmm… Might be a sign of needing dual or tri cores. How many thestral hairs are in your wand?”

“Three,” Albus reminded him, “Braided, according to legend, like you don’t know that.” 

“Age gets to all of us mere mortals who can’t deage, Albus!”

“What’s a thestral?”

“It’s like a pegasus, but associated with death,” Albus explained to him quickly.

“But that does remind me,” Garrick said, already bringing over several wands, “How is Fawkes?”

No sooner had he said the name, then the annoying creature charged in through the open window. Albus rolled his eyes, “Ever the exhibitionist. What can I say?”

Harry laughed when Hedwig followed him through a moment later, “Not yet, girl, I’m getting my wand right now.”

Garrick observed the snowy owl, as she flew over to Harry. He continued petting the red and gold phoenix next to him, “She’s remarkable, too friendly for an owl though.”

“She just likes people,” Harry told him, not looking up from petting his first gift.

“Or perhaps it’s just you,” Garrick suggested, “But either way, we’re not going to find you a wand standing around. Let’s get to it!”

After the first ten, Harry was over this experience. After the first hundred and being an hour in, Garrick had taken shelter behind Albus’ strongest shield with the Headmaster, both men stationed behind the desk in order to put something physical between themselves and the teenager. The wand maker had to agree with his friend that the man’s grandson was a most difficult fit but rather than getting down trodden like the teenager, he was energized by the experience. Fawkes and Hedwig had also taken shelter behind the shield after several wands, mostly those with aviary creature cores, tried to blow both to bits.

Albus could see just how much his grandson took after Severus in this moment. Around people, friends, he could be a social butterfly like James and Lily. But like this, with his natural exceptionalism making him an outlier, the boy just wanted to be normal and couldn’t manage. As the second hour of trying approached, the boy was sitting against the wall across from them, boxes scattered across the ground. 

Seeing him fray, Albus gestured for Garrick to give them a minute and sat on the floor next to Harry, “It’s going to be fine.”

“No, it’s not!” Harry said, “Gods, can’t I just keep borrowing Fawkes? It’s easier than this!”

“Sorry bud, I need my familiar back,” Albus told him honestly. It was not the time to point out that Harry was still only fifteen and had genie, fae, and vampire inheritances to come into. Chances already were that they boy was going to end up with multiple familiars.

Hedwig, sensing his upset, came flying over now that things were done blowing up for the moment. Harry groaned into her feathers, “This is ridiculous.”

“Did any of them feel better than others? More right?”

“No,” Harry said, “I mean… phoenix feathers tend to be less destructive. Same with augurey feathers, when they don’t try to kill Fawkes and Iggy. But they still don’t feel right, even with multiple feathers in a wand.”

“These things take time, I know it’s frustrating.”

Harry snorted, looking at his watch, “Oh bloody fucking… It’s been two hours!”

“It’s not that bad!” Albus insisted.

“Yes it is! And all the blow ups, everyone is going to know!”

“I put up a silencing barrier after the second one.”

“Oh, thank you… Oh gods, Grandpa Abby is never going to let me live this down!!!” His head fell into his hands at that one.

“Relax,” Albus instructed him, wrapping an arm around the fifteen year old, “We’ll tell him I decided to stay for tea. It’s just obnoxious enough on my part that he’ll buy it.”

Harry laughed darkly, but knew that was true, where he buried himself in his grandfather’s hug, “This sucks.”

“Fair,” Albus acknowledged, “Exception is not without adversity.”

“If you’re going to make it worse with your one liners,” Harry told him, “You can just leave.”

They both laughed and finally looked back to see where Ollivander had gone. The wizard had disappeared however and, since there was only one direction to go, Albus just slipped behind the desk to go find him, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Those are fighting words in this family,” Harry told him, following the redhead. Neither were surprised, given the flurry of activity that had been the last couple hours, when both Fawkes and Hedwig flew after them to supervise.

They walked through stacks for a good ten minutes before finding Ollivander. The man was standing in a group of wands that all rested in gold boxes; collector wands if Albus recognized the labelling correctly. He seemed mesmerized.

“Tell me you two… Have you ever heard of a wand made from different phoenixes?”

“What, no, of course not,” Harry said, knowing it an impossibility. Phoenixes were vain assholes and did not share well, ever; even Newt Scamander regarded them as the most territorial of all birds, “It would be… It would be…”

“Deranged and egotistical in equal measure,” Albus offered, studying his old friend.

The wizard in question snickered at the accusation, “I’d get offended if you didn’t know me so well.”

“Oh Mary Mother of... you didn’t?”

“Oh, but I did! Well, sort of,” by that time the man had grabbed a box and was leading them back to the small entryway that was well warded against accidental damage, unlike his wand storage, “It was actually from a mix matched pair.”

“Do tell,” Albus said sarcastically, running a hand over his face and through his hair in irritation.

“Well, I was on holiday and came across the most lovely couple,” the wizard started naturally.

Harry threw a hand over his mouth to hide a giggle. His over a hundred year old grandfather glaring daggers into the back of Ollivander’s skull, the list of jinxes he was thinking an obvious mile long, was the best thing Harry had seen in ages.

Realizing Harry wasn’t caught up in the negative of it all, Albus gave him a wink and let the wandmaker tell them whatever mythos came with this wand.

“It was a horrible holiday, having to meet my future mother-in-law, and let me tell you; love had never been so very tested. My wife and I had a horrible fight right before I discovered them, called off the wedding and everything. One was a traditional phoenix; the female. Albus you may know this but female phoenixes aren’t brightly colored like males, they…”

“Are shades of black, white, and silver; it helps them hide their nests. One of my best friends is Newt Scamander, Garrick. Get on with the specifics,” Albus instructed. They hadn’t even been to the menagerie yet.

“Fine, but I’ll expect a full apology when this day is over,” Garrick told him, “Fourteen inches long, the rarest of all wood types, elder wood… Don’t you grimace at me, sir!”

Albus raised his hands in apology.

“And a dual core from both a traditional phoenix and an augurey, or Irish phoenix,” Garrick said placing the box on the counter between him and Harry, Albus perched beside his old friend, waiting for the reveal, “To balance the magic I had to soak one feather in basilisk venom and the other in obscurus ectoplasm.”

“Because that sounds perfectly safe,” Albus put forth blanching. He knew Harry was vaccinated, he and Lily made sure of that as soon as she had it figured out. There was no danger to the wand, but it still irked him to no end that this was his friend’s big idea. For Harry’s sake he was refusing to root one way or another in the outcome.

“You are ruining the moment, hush,” Garrick instructed him, leaning toward Harry, “But it has one last secret.”

“What’s that?” Harry couldn’t resist asking with a grin.

“In order to seal the pieces together forever, they were encased in acromantula web,” Ollivander told him, “To produce this wand.”

The wand that lay on golden silk inside was pale white but looked otherwise unimpressive. Harry liked that. It didn’t have knobs or flashy bells and whistles, only a natural handle. The only other sign of design were two indentions, they looked like vines had grown into the wood, which twisted together all the way from the bottom to the top. 

Harry went to pick it up the wand and both men quickly got behind the shield with the birds. To be fair the boy was expecting all kinds of hell to rain from the wand after the way this excursion had been going. But, when he felt the same warm sensation he’d felt four years ago, he knew even before the light show started that this was it. When bright colors began shooting from the wand like unharmful fireworks, he took in all the colors that started to swirl around him 

Albus didn’t know if Harry would be upset about the open windows that the lights poured out of later, but for the moment the experience was incredible. Gold, white, silver, and black swirled freely mingling with blues, greens, purples, and reds. Once it all faded away the three of them stared at each other, before Harry broke first, cheering. He jumped into Albus’ arms relieved and, when he pulled away to go show off to Hedwig and Fawkes, the Headmaster found a new favorite memory for conjuring his patronus. 

“Let’s go before something goes wrong,” Harry said, “I hope Newt has better luck with me. I’m so sorry, Mr. Ollivander.”

“Poppycock,” Garrick told him, “I had a wonderful time! Tell Abby how much I enjoy our tea time, Albus.”

Albus paid Garrick and they made a date for the next week to catch up. He had no doubt that the man wanted to check on the unique and precious wand he’d given Harry. Albus was sure that was going to be rather common discussion topic between himself and Garrick now.

It seemed like the day had finally won out against some members of the original troop when they returned well past the expected lunch schedule. Arthur was gone with Ron, it appeared, while Bill had gotten off work and was sitting with his mother and mates at their previous table. Knowing that Neville was going home with Harry, Augusta had left him with Sirius, once assured that the Black Lord would alert her immediately to any mischief. Hermione, Draco, George, Severus, and Remus had taken over the children’s previous table and were looking over Harry’s new design of Wolfsbane. Sirius and Narcissa were entertaining Blaise, Luna, Fred, and Neville with stories of the Marauders’ best pranks.

Seeing them come back onto the street, Albus could see that Percy was relieved. Immediately upon spotting them, Viktor Krum abandoned his place at Molly’s table and ran over to hug Harry, before they could even cross the street. The two were lost in conversation, but followed Albus automatically, as they discussed Harry becoming captain of the Gryffindor team.

“How did it go?” Percy asked, like he hadn’t seen the light show with everyone else.

“It went,” Harry muttered before going back to his conversation, “The less said the better.”

Aberforth was opening his mouth, honestly to offer sympathy for his grandson having to put up with both Albie and Garrick, but stopped when his brother cut him a look. And the genius was not kidding. Looking into their fae bond, the barman rolled his eyes. His ability to terrorize any genius was specifically reserved for his idiot brother; he’d have to assure Harry of that later.

“Newt arrived an hour ago,” Minerva informed them, “Hagrid suggested that they go look at the menagerie ahead of time and they headed across the street about half and hour ago.”

“Hmm…” Albus acknowledged, but he was distracted in trying not to chuckle aloud. 

Percy had just noticed Draco glaring daggers through Viktor’s entire being and a stray thought across their bond had gotten the fae’s attention. Personal space had been a bit lacking in Durmstrang for generations, students there were just trained to be more tactile. But, if the older boy didn’t remove his hand from Harry’s shoulder, both older mates were pretty sure that Draco was going to remove the offending limb.

“We should get going, no reason to keep the magizoologists waiting,” Sirius said, suddenly standing, “Come on, pup.”

Harry went willingly enough, oblivious to the kick in the pants his godfather had just gotten from his own mate, telling him to break up the discussion. 

Narcissa was very aware of her son’s jealous tendencies, she was largely where he got the. The Slytherin been very proud of Sirius’ attractiveness during school, as long as everyone stayed at least a foot away from him. When her son looked up and smiled at her over Hermione’s head, she knew that he appreciated the help. Severus just rolled his eyes at her over her son’s blonde hair though, finding both their antics unbearable. 

“I’m going!” Luna demanded.

“Me too!” Neville reminded them.

“I’ll go with you too,” Albus offered, getting back up, not wanting Sirius by himself with three under seventeen, even just to get across the street.

“Me too,” Remus insisted.

“Did anyone feel a cool breeze?” Sirius asked them.

Remus rolled his eyes, “Kiss my ass, Sirius. You can’t ignore me forever…”

Luna wound up linking arms with both boys and they followed the bickering Marauders. Remus was attempting to demand Sirius’ attention and the Black Lord kept coming up with more creative ways to imply the werewolf wasn’t there. Albus trailed a couple feet behind them, chuckling, as their group moved across the alley towards the menagerie. 

When the Headmaster fell back as they crossed the crowded alley and once he was out of earshot, Luna finally got her chance to talk to Neville and Harry, “Are you two nervous?”

“Terrified,” Neville answer Luna. 

“You shouldn’t be,” Luna informed them.

“Did you become psychic and not tell me?” Harry joked with his younger fae mate. He’d always be grateful to his sight for bringing her and Draco into his life early.

“No, but,” Luna told him, “Legends never die.”

“If we survive this,” Neville looked over at his friend, “I’m getting a tattoo that says that.”

“We’ll get matching,” Harry promised.

They arrived to the menagerie and shut their mouths; the adults losing their minds was not going to help anyone. It was interesting to Harry that, when they looked through the door, Hagrid and Newt seemed to be fighting. The half giant had his arms crossed and was staring at his shoes, as Newt Scamander made wild gestures to the door, while pacing, and his mouth moving rapidly.

Harry held the door for the others, mostly so he could raise an eyebrow at his Grandpa Albus when the man walked by. The Headmaster could only shake his head, no clue what the two could possibly be upset about, Harry hadn’t even gotten there yet, and he’d never seen them argue before.

“What’s going on with you two?” Albus demanded the moment he crossed the threshold.

Two of the first boys that he ever unofficially adopted from Hogwarts looked at him like he was the grim reaper for several long moments.

“Well, we err…”

“Don’t include me in your treachery,” Newt demanded of the larger wizard, before turning to his old professor, “I swear I didn’t know.”

“That bad, huh?” Albus asked, taking a seat in one of the vacant window cushions. He crossed his legs at his ankles and his arms over his chest, “Well, don’t leave me in suspense.”

“It’s really not that bad,” Hagrid said, exuberant to see Harry, giving the teenager a small squeeze, “Big birthday, coming into your siren inheritance!”

“Yeah, not going to lie, the height’s pretty great,” Harry told the man, holding up Hedwig for the giant to inspect. The owl didn’t seem to care about his plans however and took off into the store, “Iggy, wait up!”

The three teenagers took off deeper into the store, Luna leading the charge, to find Harry’s owl. The adults watched them go through the endless chasm of kneazles, pygmy puffs, fire crabs, and transforming rabbits. When Albus spotted a raven with black and white eyes following the trio through the store, he knew that his siren mate was watching for trouble, even from Grimmauld place, and wasn’t concerned about them disappearing from sight.

“Well, Hedwig seems to be in good shape,” Hagrid said, taking in the animal, “She’s sort of what I need to tell you and Harry about.”

“Hedwig?” He felt his eyes go wide, panic shooting through him. If something was wrong with that owl, Harry would have an absolute fit, “Why? What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing! Nothing!” Hagrid was quick to assure him, “It’s not like that! It’s…Well… I don’t quite know how to put it, honestly…”

“That little silver anklet she wears; has anyone tried to take it off?” Newt asked his old professor from a table in the corner, only a couple feet away from the fae. Sirius and Remus joined him.

Everyone had seen Hedwig’s dainty silver anklet, it was largely unimpressive in terms of owl adornments. It wound up being Hagrid who answered the blonde, “No, I put it on her before Harry ever saw. I didn’t want to get him in trouble.”

“Sure, him you think about,” Newt hissed, clearly irritated.

“Almost took Narcissa’s fingers off when she went too close to it,” Sirius put out there, “When Blaise sent his reply to Draco.”

Newt groaned, “That’s because it’s charmed not to come off. Unless her owner or the person that made it, takes it off.”

“Where would Hagrid have gotten something like that?” Albus demanded, glaring at Newt, already knowing the answer.

“I swear to you, I didn’t know what it was for,” Newt told his mentor, “I ran into him in Eeylops’ four years ago and he said he was trying to pass her for an owl until he could release her safely.”

Albus looked down at the Dumbledore family ring on his finger and fiddled with the silver phoenix for a while, able to feel what was coming, just as surely as Gellert with his sight “Just know, if I end up having to make a long and arduous apology to Garrick Ollivander, I will jinx you both to high heaven. What is she?”

Laughter like bells alerted them to the children’s return as Hedwig came flying back in with another bird, Luna giggling as she followed the creatures. Albus took one look at the new beast and it became absolutely apparent that he was well and truly screwed. He was already penning the apology in his head.

Flying around Harry, with Hedwig following it, was an augurey. The Irish Phoenix was a bright teal color mixed with white feathers over most of its body, while its tail, talons, and beak were all jet black. The creature enjoyed showing off its ability to summon storms, rather than lighting traditional fires. As he flew over the plants around the shop, making small clouds appear to start raining, the kids all cheered excitedly. It made sense, as they regenerated in a self created lightning storm when a life was up, and, if Albus recalled correctly, were commonly associated with seers once upon a time.

“Harry,” Albus called for his grandson’s attention, “Hagrid has something to tell you.”

“What is it?” The boy asked the giant pleasantly, letting the augurey land on his arm. Luna was taken with the creature and was petting him, while Hedwig defected to Harry’s other shoulder. Neville quickly went to stroke the owl, not wanting her to feel left out, although so far she hadn’t seemed to mind.

“Well, see I was worried about you when we first came to Diagon Alley so I…” Hagrid sighed, “Take Hedwig’s anklet off.”

“What?” Harry asked, confused by the change in topic, “No, she likes it. She’s always had it.”

“She’ll let you take it off,” Newt assured the boy.

Harry sighed but was grateful when his best friend held out his arm to take their new augurey friend and Luna took Iggy, so that he could remove the owl’s anklet. For once his first gift didn’t squawk or attack when the plain silver band was unclipped. He took it off and showed it to Hagrid with a raised eyebrow, until what looked like fog surrounded his owl and she disappeared from sight on his mate’s arm.

“Hedwig!” He screamed, trying to leap for her, but Hagrid grabbed him.

“She’s alright, Harry! She is!” Hagrid assured the young wizard.

Harry looked back from his first friend and stared as the fog started to dissipate from his… not owl. 

Gazing back at him from Luna’s arm was a snow white phoenix, with golden eyes like the sun, and only a few faintly silver feathers around her tail and underwings. The lining of her eyes and beak the only spots of black anywhere on her. Startled Harry backed into Hagrid.

Seeing the teenager’s surprise, Hedwig called to her human, unsure how to make it better. She flew over, gliding around him, hovering and attempting to make him reach for her.

“It’s alright, Harry!” Hagrid told him, “She’s still your Hedwig. She’s always been a phoenix, I just didn’t want you to get into trouble, so I hid her.”

Still shocked, Harry nodded shortly to acknowledge the half-giant, and finally put his arm out to receive the phoenix. She quickly moved up his arm to rest on his shoulder and nuzzled against his head, obviously trying to prove her point that she was still the same, she just looked different. Looking over at Neville, Harry saw the other creature observing them with adoration in its eyes.

He chuckled, “Does this mean we have to go back by Ollivander’s?”

“I wouldn’t give that man the satisfaction,” Albus muttered, “He can just wait until next week.”

“What?” Sirius, Remus, and Newt all chorused, confused.

“Nothing,” Albus said, “We just figured out where Harry’s core feathers came from. What are you going to name him?”

“Huh, I hadn’t gotten that far,” Harry admitted. He was just glad this wasn’t shaping up to be a two hour fiasco, “Hektor, maybe.”

Sirius paid the shopkeeper quickly and they all started for the door. He chuckled, taking the Irish Phoenix from Neville and walking beside his godson, who was still holding Hedwig, “To war and to hold fast; to duel and to defend. It’s a good fit.”

Harry grinned at him, “Thanks!” 

Once they were out on the street, Hedwig led her mate up to the top of Florean’s, where the oldest phoenix of the Dumbledore family was waiting. Albus watched the three of them and was glad when Fawkes was as shocked at Hedwig’s new form as his grandson had been. Had the bird known, he was going to be irritated with the stupid creature until the second coming. 

Upon their return, Angelina Johnson and Oliver Wood had joined a table with Fred, George, Ginny, and Draco, while Viktor stood over all of them with his arms crossed, shaking his head, clearly disapproving. As Harry got closer, he realized that was because they were all bent over his plans for the next Quidditch season.

“George, what the hell?!”

“Angie just wanted to see your plans!” George tried to defend, “I couldn’t say no!”

“So you went all the way home and came back with this treachery?” Harry demanded.

“He sure did,” Wood didn’t even bother to deny it, turning the page.

Harry’s green eyes narrowed at them, “If you wanted to keep a hold on the team, you should have made twins come back another year.”

He yanked his plans from the traitors before hollering, “Mrs. Weasley, did you know George and Angie eloped the day after the twins turned seventeen? Oliver was their witness!”

George squealed, Angie went bug eyed in horror, and Wood tried to escape and failed. Fred laughed so hard he fell out of his chair, like he hadn’t been at the wedding, which his mother wouldn’t buy for a second. Harry leaned over and warned them, “Keep your paws of my bloody team!”

Viktor threw his head back, howling in laughter, as he placed both hands on Harry’s shoulders, following the fifteen year old away from the howling Weasley matriarch. Harry tossed the book onto his father’s table, where Draco scrambled back to, rejoining Hermione’s efforts to understand Harry’s wolfsbane potion; that seemed far less dangerous. Neville noticed his blonde friend glance up, continuing to glare daggers into Vik’s fingers, so after a second he summoned the Durmstrang student to his side of the table to discuss the man’s own next season. 

Severus raised an eyebrow at his son, “Are you sure you weren’t the misplaced lion? Because that was vicious.”

“I don’t recall ever saying that,” Harry informed him.

The potions master blinked up at his son, who’d joined the Quidditch conversation happening over his head, several times. Had his son taken after him that much? Was Harry supposed to be in his house? He’d always just assumed the boy would take after Jamie and Lils. When neither boy had objected to Narcissa claiming Draco took after his father… He’d just assumed Albus and Minerva were right. 

Hermione got to a difficult part of the potion and pulled on Draco’s sleeve, wanting the Slytherin’s attention. The two were bent over his plans, foreheads almost touching, and Harry got that dreaded sense of dejavu, right before a haze of green entered his side vision.

Throwing a shield over the two, Harry looked up as the killing curse exploded against the golden barrier, to see that Bellatrix Lestrange had cast it, undoubtedly enraged at her nephew’s proximity to the muggleborn.

Neville was instantly at his side ready to avenge his parents. Draco shot up from the table in front of Harry getting his first glimpse of Lucius Malfoy since he got his mother out of the manor; the man looked rough, but not as bad as he would once the young Black heir was done with him. 

As the three of them took in the sight of Voldemort, with Lestrange and Malfoy behind him at each shoulder, just up the alley, Harry sighed. He instructed the two other Peverell heirs, “Get to the middle of the street.”

Albus was the furthest from Severus’ table but shot up when the first spell was cast. It was mayhem around them, adults and children trying to find their parties to flee. Behind Tom, Bellatrix, and Lucius, were around fifty masked death eaters. He started to run for Harry, realizing that the boy, Draco, and Neville were all starting straight for Voldemort and his seconds. 

Desperate to get his grandson out of there, he looked up for Fawkes, only to realize that his phoenix was being held at bay by Hektor, the augurey blocking the other creatures flight no matter what he tried.

He started to charge for Harry, Aberforth just behind him, when Percy’s arms grabbed them both around the waist screaming, “Watch out!”

Hedwig came tearing down from nowhere, causing white flames to erupt between Albus and Harry, just before he got to the boy, and the phoenix didn’t stop until the six were trapped together in a ring of phoenix fire.

Percy and the Dumbledores were about the same height, he only had an inch on either, but he was far more muscular. He was able to pull both out of the way before they got burned, but his blazer wasn’t so lucky. Pulling the jacket off quickly, the Graves Lord threw it into the burning ring, which he was sure wouldn’t spread without Harry or Hedwig’s permission, unlike the stray spark that caught his arm.

Once they were trapped, Albus looked up to see Hektor finally release Fawkes, now that there wasn’t a way for him to stop Harry. His familiar quickly ignited a line of fire up one side of the alley to protect the shops. Seeing the traditional phoenix’s intent, the teal bird did the same on the other side, the clouds he left behind striking lightning on the ground offering the same protection.

“Harry Potter, the boy who lived,” Voldemort greeted.

“Voldie,” Harry acknowledged, “Finally decide to step out?”

The snake like man sneered at the teenager, “It would seem you’ve left me with little choice. Give them back.”

“I’m afraid they’ve been rather damaged,” Harry told him, pulling the ring, as well as the cup, diadem, and locket onto the ground between them, “The Peverell lines will never allow you to have the hallows. You know that.”

“The masters of death you’ve become then,” The wizard hissed, “Defenders of all that which is worth living for.”

Harry laughed, “If you had the emotional or mental capacity to comprehend the moral of that story, I’d die from the shock alone.”

Albus could only pray, even as both Percy and Abby crossed their arms to only look at him, “Yeah, I know, he takes after me.”

Voldemort looked around the alley, observing the gathered adults and teenagers outside the ring, prepared to challenge his death eaters for this one boy. Even Americans, apparently, as he saw Porpentina Scamander sending a patronus, undoubtedly for her Lord brother-in-law and his team. There didn’t seem to be anyone left in the alley not prepared to fight him now that Potter was making a stand, “How many of them will you allow to die for you?”

“Only those which you command,” Harry told him, “I wanted to finish this the other night. You ran.”

Harry continued before the man could try and deny it, “But, no matter how often you run, no matter who you kill to get to me, no matter what details you try to put on your side… We will always end up right here.”

“And no matter what,” Harry told him, “I will never step out alone.”

He grinned at the other Slytherin heir, “The only question that remains is; when will you?”


	6. Legends Never Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The smoke clears and Harry's debut weekend comes to an end. What are the consequences of his final stand against Lord Voldemort? Where does his family go from here?

As the smoke cleared, Tom Marvolo Riddle laid on the ground unconscious before Harry and distantly he could hear cheers erupting beyond Hedwig’s fire. Malfoy and Lestrange were also down within the circle of white flame. Draco and Neville had left to aid with fights elsewhere once the two were taken care of, his familiar allowing them to pass through unharmed. 

Letting the circle of fire recede finally, his Grandpa Graves and Grandpa Albus were there in an instant, restraining the Dark Lord for imprisonment.

He finally turned to take in all of the damage; it wasn’t as bad as it easily could have been. All the stores were unharmed, thanks to the phoenixes, although the street was torn to hell from the fighting. The ministry had shown up with aurors and healers in equal measure, so there were few casualties on their side; Harry did a quick head count and everyone from the Order was still standing. He set Hedwig and Hektor to helping the injured where they could, he spotted Fawkes doing the same.

Most of his friends were also fine, with the exception of Ginny, who Hektor got stable, before she was being carted off to St. Mungos just up the way for a transfusion, her family trailing close behind. The twins looked torn and he quickly waved them off to be with their sister. Luna and Hermione were also concerned about their best friend but ran over Harry first.

His mate gave him a searing kiss, reminding him, “I told you legends never die!”

Then Hermione tackled him in a hug, before they took off back up the street where the twins were waiting for Fred’s mate and Ginny’s best friend. Harry smiled, thinking about the day those two could get married; Mione would never be bored with Fred, that much was for sure.

Two death eaters had cornered the fourteen year old Weasley, causing Hermione and Angelina to step in and defend the young kitsune. For someone who had been screaming her head off not even an hour before, Molly Weasley had been kissing her new daughter-in-law’s face ecstatic that the girl protected her only daughter before they disappeared for the hospital. He’d have to remind Ginny, when he visited later, that George owed her for buying his way out of the dog house. 

Sirius and Narcissa had run to grab Draco. Harry could see his godfather’s head on a swivel looking for him, but he’d ducked aside before the smoke could clear, not wanting to be caught up in the jovial mayhem. He didn’t have the energy left to run over, even if he didn’t mind the attention. He set out to catch the man’s eye as soon as he could.

Neville was crouched next to his grandmother, who had come screaming back into the fight, although they were unaware of exactly how she’d been alerted. She was being treated by Andromeda Tonks for a nasty burn that she’d taken to her arm, but otherwise would be okay.

“You need to sit down.”

He looked over to see his father standing there, only then did he realize that he’d managed to wander back toward the outside tables of Florean’s, where emergency responders were setting up. The potions master was clearly helping healers with supplies, but stopped to drag his son into a hug the moment he was in arms reach. They hadn’t exactly done that yet, but Harry was grateful for it nonetheless. 

“Do you know the last thing your dad ever said to me?”

Harry was pretty sure he grunted, but wasn’t one hundred percent sure.

“I told him I hoped you grew up to drive him as crazy as he did me. He laughed, you were asleep on his chest and he said… He told me that you were going to cash in all your crazy chips in one weekend; that just when I thought it was over I should restock on healing potions. I thought I’d failed him after the incident with the Firebolt, but I still brought extra for today… Maybe I knew you weren’t done yet,” Severus told him in a hushed whisper. He finally released the boy and disappeared into the mass of responders tending to the wounded. 

Aurors were taking off all the downed death eaters and Harry suddenly felt useless. Looking up the street he spotted Sirius still looking for him and tried to wave, but the man was turned in the wrong direction. Past his godfather he spotted reporters starting to emerge from the Daily Prophet’s office and couldn’t suppress a groan.

“Go hide in my shop,” Garrick Ollivander offered, where he appeared from the alleyway next to Harry, “I’ll tell the family where you are. Right after I get that apology.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“None of that, call me Garrick. Off you trot,” He instructed before heading straight for a certain redhead.

Harry took off for the offered sanctuary, in no mood for the paper’s crap. He barely made it into the front door before falling below the sightline of the widow onto the floor. It took a couple of minutes to realize that the room was spinning and his hands were shaking. He felt his new wand fall from his grasp and, somewhere far away, heard it clatter to the floor. What the… He was fine, he’d won, yet he couldn’t seem to get his lungs to work either.

“You’re okay,” Someone said above him, then suddenly Tonks was on the floor, kneeling to put them eye to eye, “You’re going into shock. Try to match my breathing, just focus on that.”

He tried to do what she said and succeeded to some degree. His mind processed, after a few minutes, that her hair color matched her eyes today; both were a medium purple. She smiled at him, once he seemed to be coming out of it, “You didn’t go into shock the other night?”

Harry felt his head tilt more than he caused it, “I think I slept through it if I did.”

She laughed, “Well, I can certainly see that. Pain potion and dreamless sleep at its finest. Remus went to get your godfather; we saw you coming this way.”

“Does this mean they’re speaking again?”

“Who knows with those two? My mother always said I got my dramatic flare from the other rogue in the Black family. I can’t say that I disagree.”

Harry snickered, before honestly admitting, “I didn’t want to deal with the cameras.”

“I hate them too,” Tonks told him, moving to sit next to the teenager under the window, “I can’t wait to tell Teddy about this.”

“I think Grandpa Gellert may have beaten us to it,” he warned the metamorphmagus.

“That’s right,” She said snapping, “Forgot all about the other rogue seer…You know, you would have been a really cool little brother.” Harry stared at the woman wide eyed for a moment, but she only giggled before continuing, “That was a really brave thing you did, Harry. Thank you.”

He blinked at the woman, “I have no idea what to say to that.”

“Well that’s the good part, I think. You’ve more than earned the right to say, or not say, whatever you want. There isn’t one answer, one solution, anymore,” Tonks told him, “The world is nothing but possibilities now.”

“Think it’s earned me a normal school year?” The teen asked her.

Tonks snorted, “I didn’t say you’d get to leave the whole family behind. I don’t think anyone around this lot could ever be normal.”

Sirius came tearing into the store, Narcissa and Draco hot on his heels, looking around the room for them in a frenzy. Remus followed them at a more sedate pace, smiling down at his wife and nephew when he spotted them.

His siren mate hit his knees and was kissing Harry desperately the second Draco saw his dark powerhouse of a mate. Harry hadn’t been kissed like that since… Earlier that day in Gambol and Japes honestly; had that really only been a couple of hours ago? He heard the adults talking above them, but it took him a moment to process what they were saying.

“We should start referring to this moment as the Kiss of Death,” Sirius suggested, “Because when they’re done, I’m going to kill them!”

“No you’re not,” Remus reminded him again, pulling his wife from the floor, “Where are your parents?”

“Why is the wind so brisk today?’ Sirius asked the room.

“I swear on Prongs’ grave, Pads...” Remus started in a warning tone.

“Sirius!” Narcissa scolded terse, where she was now kneeling next to Harry, pulling him into a hug, “I’m in no mood.”

“Yes, dear,” Sirius said quickly, “Mum is helping Uncle Albus restrain the defeated Dark Lord and Dad is trying to keep Grandpa Graves from calling everyone but Theseus Scamander’s team a bunch on incompetent mongrels.”

“Haha, who’s whipped now?” Remus gloated.

“Remus,” Tonks warned.

“Sorry,” He said, though the werewolf was still grinning.

“Don’t you ever even think of doing something like that again,” Narcissa hissed at both boys, once they were sitting below the widow side by side, “Any adult could have fought them, but no! You two just had to step up! I mean it, neither of you are going into the auror corps! I forbid it! This is over. I cannot handle the stress. You can be a professor and you can be a famous quidditch player and that is it!”

“I guess I better keep my relationship with Viktor on good terms then,” Harry told her.

“Screw her forbidding,” Draco said instantly, waving off his mother, “You don’t even like quidditch that much.”

The woman rolled her eyes, “Smooth, son. Is there any reason we can’t get them out of here?”

The younger blonde blushed and Harry couldn’t resist snickering.

“No,” Sirius told her, “No one is talking to any of them without me and Graves present anyway. I doubt the current administration is dumb enough to even try, but their minor status will protect them if they do.”

“Good, let’s get home,” Narcissa commanded, dusting herself off and guiding Draco up, dusting him off as well.

Sirius reached a hand out for Harry, which he happily took. The teenager was halfway standing when the older animagus watched his face crumple, as his hand went to his side, and the Potter heir hit his knees. Before his godfather could even get there, he flinched again and fell onto the side that he wasn’t clutching.

Remus was down by them in a moment, looking up to his wife, “Get your mother.”

They both looked at the injuries. Pulling his hand away there was a deep laceration on his side and Remus could see blood seeping into the back of Harry’s shirt; he’d pulled some of his stitches during the fight, no doubt. Sirius let his veins run black to numb the poor boy, neither of them willing to lecture him about not going to a medic, knowing the cameras that were flashing on every inch of the street outside. 

Only moments passed between Harry going down and Andromeda coming in behind Tonks, Neville and Augusta Longbottom behind them. They shut the door quickly, not wanting the vultures outside to realize who had taken shelter within the store. By the time the healer kneeled next to Harry, he was numb and Sirius had pulled him back to sit up once more.

Remus pulled his shirt off so that Andy could look, but all of them had forgotten that the healer wasn’t there for their conversation two nights ago. The woman gasped, her hand going to her mouth in horror, as all she could do was stare at the fifteen year old.

Harry jumped, having forgotten about his scars, before he put glamours back over them when he realized the problem. He’d stopped wearing them all the time once he’d suffered through his conversation with the family, but thought maybe he should go back to using them. There was no reason to terrify everyone anytime that he took his shirt off.

“I told you it was bad,” Tonks reminded her mother.

“I just wasn’t…” Andy forced herself to swallow and shake off her surprise. She took in the shame in the young teen’s eyes and sighed, “You can drop them, Harry. Let me take a look at the rest.”

She treated the gash on his side, but after checking his magic, had to start restitching his back. Once again his magic was too low to heal the massive cut without doing more harm than good, “You should come by my office Monday morning. I’ll heal the rest. Narcissa are you working with…”

“Yes,” Her sister answered quickly, everyone turning toward the back when they heard noises. 

Ollivander had shut all the windows and doors when the fighting started, but they assumed there was some sort of back entrance, when Hedwig came flying in, Hektor and Fawkes right behind her. The phoenix did not tolerate Andy’s presence near her human, ushering her away with broad flaps until the healer backed up. She seemed fine with Sirius and Remus’ proximity, as they weren’t meddling other than to numb Harry. 

His familiars both took different injuries, while Narcissa cleaned the blood from his shirt. Hedwig cried onto his back, now that the boosts were out of his system, and his familiar’s creature abilities couldn’t harm his magic. By the time they were almost done, Garrick Ollivander was leading the Dumbledores, McGonagall, and his Grandpa Percy into the store behind him.

“You alright, Little Prince?” Aberforth asked, coming over to check on his grandson, helping Sirius haul him up, hugging the teenager on his way. He was too old for this sort of action.

“Yes, all better now,” Harry told him, “It was just a few scratches.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a challenge to your status as King of Understatements,” Percy informed his mate, as he watched the enormous cut on the boy’s back still disappearing, “Dear God.”

Albus chuckled, but didn’t argue as he drug Harry into a hug, “You should have let us handle it.”

“He was never going to let that happen,” Harry told him, “I had to.”

Percy sighed, dragging the boy to him as well, “I’m just glad you’re still here. Now, home or St. Mungos?”

“Home,” the adults chorused.

“St. Mungos,” the teenagers argued together.

Harry allowed his favorite professor to drag him into a hug as well. He knew the woman wasn’t one for emotional displays, so he’d enjoy the sentimentality while he could.

Ollivander just laughed, “You’ve got to love a good inter-generational dispute.”

“Yeah well the adults are pulling rank,” Sirius informed the teens, “Guys, Ginny is fine. I’ve already gotten a patronus from Arthur. She’ll be home by tonight and just wants to get out of there.”

Harry sighed, “Fine,” then he conjured his own patronus to send the redhead a message that he’d see her the next day and reminding her to get her due from George.

When he looked up Sirius had his arms crossed, while Remus was looking down trying to hide a laugh, “What!? Oh come on, Sirius, the no magic thing has already gone to pot! You can’t be serious!”

“I am Siirus,” his godfather informed him, earning an eye roll from the three teenagers, “And you do any more magic until I put you on that train, I’ll… I don’t know what I’ll do, but punching your father in the face the second I get to the afterlife if climbing higher on the list every second! Harry, I can get you off charges because you just defeated a Dark Lord, but you can’t keep pushing it.”

“Actually,” Ollivander offered, “There are no charms on that wand, as it was a collector’s item. They can’t track him.”

“Garrick,” Albus warned him, “Now is not the time to encourage him.”

“Sorry,” The wandmaker offered sincerely, as the teenagers high fived in the background.

Sirius sighed, offering an apology for everytime he thought he’d be the cool parent one day, having known jack shit about how difficult teenagers were, “Look, can we agree that you won’t do anymore magic in public? Is that at least doable?”

“Deal!” Harry agreed readily enough; he wasn’t planning to venture out too often now that this shit show had happened. He wouldn’t have a moment’s peace until he made it back to classes and the familiarity of Hogwarts anyway. 

“Can we please get the hell out of here?” Remus asked, “It’s only going to take one reporter to make this show go batty.”

“Go out the back and apparate from the alley,” Garrick told them, “Do you know the way, Albus?”

“Yes, thank you for your help today,” The man offered, shaking hands with his friend, before their party made their way out the back.

Harry was walking at Albus’ elbow, his Grandpa Abby on his other side, as they arrived in the alley and apparated to the nearest deserted entrance to muggle London. He thought he heard vague shouts, but couldn’t make the words out. Landing in the deserted alley, the loud pops of his family echoed in his ears and the master of death realized he was going down right before it happened, recognizing the feeling from when the clock chimed two nights before.

“He was too low on magic to be doing that himself,” Andy informed them, where she’d followed at the last moment.

Percy sighed, pulling the boy to him so he could offer some comfort, while Sirius’ hand found the back of Harry’s neck, black veined, to do the rest. 

Remus rolled his eyes, “He just defeated a Dark Lord, forgive us for not thinking that apparition would be what finally tried to do him in.”

Tonks snorted, “I’ll go get Severus. He’s the best option for a boost now.”

“Just let me die,” Harry managed to get out, “My stomach cannot handle that.”

“Wait a minute,” Andromeda said then popped away. It took a few minutes for her to come back, potion in hand, “I got this from Sev, take it. You’re still stable enough that stopping the drain and letting it build back up naturally will be fine.”

“Did you tell him what happened?” Remus asked his mother-in-law.

“I told him enough,” She answered, “He asked if the mutt had it under control and went back to work when I said yes.”

Sirius rolled his eyes at the nickname, but Narcissa could feel how pleased he was at Severus’ show of faith. The two would never be best friends, but the new normal they’d achieved was a miracle compared to their school days. Lily would have been thrilled at both wizards’ growth; James would have just been relieved. That man had spent more time managing his best friend and vampire mate; one being a notorious drama queen and hothead, while the other was the world’s greatest cynic and stoic in equal measure.

Potion downed, Neville pulled his best friend back to his feet. 

“Sirius, are you still fine if he goes with you?” Augusta asked the Black Lord once they were walking again.

“Of course, as long as you’re willing to leave him after the way today has gone,” Sirius assured her, “Narcissa and I are going to decide where to relocate. They shouldn’t get into anything else from Grimmauld Place.”

The Longbottom matriarch sighed, where the boys were hurrying after Narcissa and Tonks ahead of them chatting about the upcoming World Cup, “Do you think it’s over now? Are they done?”

Remus huffed, “I don’t think there is anyone else for them to fight. School has got to be the next big adventure.”

“Don’t threaten us, Remus,” Albus said from behind them, where he was walking hand in hand with Graves, Minnie on his other side.

The transfiguration professor’s lips pursed, “I don’t know if Quidditch and classes are going to be enough. Are there any more responsibilities we can throw at him?”

“We could always get him to head a club,” Albus suggested.

Sirius thought back to Harry’s story of his second year, “What about that dueling club? Is that still a thing? He’s clearly good at it.”

“It wasn’t popular because of Lockheart,” the Headmaster disclosed, “We could always restart it. Have Harry, Draco, and Neville as student leaders, if Percy and Severus act as faculty supervision.”

They spoke about the dynamics for a while longer. Augusta finally took off, after bidding farewell to her grandson and asking that he not get into anymore duels before school started. They were almost back to Grimmauld Place, luckily. Not the Sirius ever thought the day would come he’d look forward to getting back there.

“Where are you and Narcissa thinking?” Graves asked his godson. He hadn’t known that they were planning to move so quickly, although looking at the boy’s history with Walburga, he should not have been surprised.

“We’re torn,” Sirius disclosed honestly, “Between the house in Hogsmeade and the flat here.”

“I haven’t lived there in years,” Abby warned his son, unsure what condition the place was in. He had moved from his and Orion’s house in Hogsmeade to the apartment over his bar when Sirius was arrested, unable to deal with all the memories, “But it would be nice to let the kids see where you grew up.”

The Black family’s rogue Gryffindor sighed, “I’m not trying to breathe down their necks, I’m really not. But… So much has happened and I can’t help wanting to be close.”

Albus gazed around him to the teenagers ahead, “For all that he has deep trust issues with adults, I don’t think he minds when the family is around. After so many years of being isolated from all of us, he might enjoy having you close by. At least he could visit once a week.”

“Once a week,” Aberforth snickered, “You’re adorable.”

“Shut up, Abby,” Albus instructed him, “He’s not running rogue shot this year.”

Remus snorted, “He mentioned just wanting a normal year to Dory. I don’t think he’s going to be trying for any more grand schemes.”

“I don’t think that’s even what today was,” Percy put in, “He knew it was coming, but he wasn’t seeking it out.”

Albus’ hand tightened on the vampire’s, “Did he tell you they were coming?”

The current Potter Lord shook his head, “No, just that you getting involved wouldn’t make a difference if something happened. Thank God I was looking; you and Abby would have been roasted.”

“She does what her human needs,” Aberforth said, looking toward the rooftops where the three phoenixes were flying ahead of them toward Grimmauld Place. 

They walked in silence for a little while, keeping an eye out for any stray trouble that could still be coming to bite them in the arse after the way their trip had gone. Percy made sure that his shields were up, as he contemplated the fact that they hadn’t lost anyone. Of course, he highly doubted that Albus would still want to continue their earlier conversation about more children, now that it had been highlighted how much work another one would be.

It was going to take all of their efforts the next two years to keep Harry invested in school and to make him feel established in the family. Largely, the work had just begun on that front. The teenager reaching out to him about his vision was a good start, but there was still so much damage from the Dursley’s and Voldemort to undo. Adults had been… Perhaps not the enemy, but certainly the ones to keep from discovering his plot, if Harry wanted to be successful. It was bound to take time to change that mentality, no matter how curious he was about the family.

And Percy wanted their grandson to come to them with things. Big things, little things; in crisis and not. Harry needed to know that it was okay to be fifteen and pass things up to other people, rather than feeling that he was the only one who could face the horrible nature of the world. It was hard for someone with a natural inclination to protect others, to let someone else do the protecting; he would know. Tina had spent years trying to make him realize that, but even the vampire had to acknowledge that they’d been co-directors for decades now.

Arriving back at Grimmauld Place, they found Gellert and the kids watching a spawned vision of Harry’s duel with Voldemort. At first everyone wanted to be outraged, but it was hard when, one, it wasn’t like Harry had lost, and two, Tonks started asking her ecstatic son, who ran into Harry’s arms, if that wasn’t the coolest thing ever. At that point it wasn’t fair to yell at Gellert for showing them something that the kids’ mothers didn’t seem to mind, as even Narcissa just went to get food ready.

“That was totally wicked,” Teddy screamed from his place in Harry’s arms, “You kicked bad guy butt!!!”

Remus saw Harry get the spins and took the boy quickly, worried he’d drop the toddler accidentally, “Let’s lower the volume, cub. But, yes, it was pretty cool.”

“Will you teach me how to duel?” Capri asked in a whisper from her place in Sirius’ hold.

It was so quiet Harry almost didn’t hear her. He was about to answer when his Aunt Cissy came back into the living area, “Uh, no, he will not! As a matter of fact, he, Draco, and Neville are never allowed to duel anyone ever again. So, I’m afraid they can’t oblige.”

Harry snorted and leaning over he whispered to the girl, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you as soon as you get your first wand.”

Capri smiled at their secret, more excited than ever to turn eleven.

The floo fired and out came the Weasley twins.

“How’s Gin?” Harry demanded.

“She’s good,” George offered.

“Just got home,” Fred told them.

“Sleeping off the day with a pain potion.”

The boys quickly took over the small table in the corner, Fred and Draco facing off at Wizard’s Chess, while Harry collapsed on the sofa with his Grandpa Gellert. He seemed to end up here more often than not, and that wasn’t just since his debut started. Ever since that first breakdown his second year, he and the previous Dark Lord tended to be a snuggly pair whenever he was stressed or hurt.

Percy and Albus both caught the stray thought from the teenager and were not in any way, shape, or form surprised. Gellert, despite what people who didn’t know him personally might assume, was an extremely comforting person. There was a reason the blonde seer had been as successful as he was at pulling people to his side of the war and making them feel confident in that decision. Hell, despite their loss, the man was still good friends with Queenie Goldstein, and that woman had lost so much to their war effort back in the day.

Harry didn’t get to settle there for long, however, as food was soon ready. Narcissa had all of the teens moving into the kitchen, the adults coming behind them quickly. The conversation was light, mostly the twins cracking jokes and Sirius and Narcissa discussing the list of Black family properties that they’d gotten from Gringotts that morning. Teddy and Capri were easily entertained by the goods that had arrived from the shopping trip, once it was checked for any harmful magic.

After lunch, when they were allowed to unpack all the boys’ school things, Capri wound up looking through his new magical creature text with Harry, while Teddy cheered Neville onto victory against George, after his twin’s defeat at Draco’s hand. They were all sitting around, utterly exhausted, when Harry jumped up, gasping, “I forgot my playbook.”

“No!” The twins hollered, knowing that was going to lead Gryffindor to glory.

“We’ll go get it back!” Neville declared, ‘We can dodge a few reporters!”

“Absolutely not!” Minerva told them, “No strategy is worth that. You are not going anywhere.”

“Sit down,” Remus instructed them, “I’ll go get it. Your father probably already grabbed it.”

“What if he didn’t!” Harry demanded, “Oh gods, what is wrong with me!” 

“You’d just battled a Dark Lord, Little Prince,” Abby reminded him, “I think you’re allowed to forget about a playbook.”

Albus rolled his eyes, “I’ll send a patronus to Severus. If he’s still there, he’ll grab it.”

“Besides,” Sirius told them, sharing a look with his best friend, “None of you are leaving this house. Remus is right, we can go get it.”

Percy stood as well, leaving Gellert and Albus where the three had been lounging on the sofa, with Harry sprawled across them, “They’re right, we can easily grab it. Incompetent as The Ministry proved to be earlier, Sirius and I should drop back by anyway. Can’t leave Theseus all by himself. Abby?”

“Someone has to keep you from making the baby aurors cry,” Aberforth told his best friend, heading for the door after the younger pair. 

Gellert raised an eyebrow at his husband’s back, as all the teenagers followed the quartet to the door, reminding them exactly where the book had been. He looked back at Albus and was further surprised by the haunted look that had come into the redhead’s eyes, “What?”

“They don’t give two damns about that playbook.”

“Obviously,” He pointed out, “They’ve got Harry, Gryffindor surely doesn’t need it. Did you catch where they are going?”

“I can guess.”

Frustrated with the lack of answer, he looked toward the other adults in the room. Narcissa and Tonks were upstairs, so he quickly realized that Minerva was the only other person in the room with them. Looking at her, he took in the fact that she didn’t seem concerned about where all the other men in the family had decided to take off to. It was beginning to make him feel like he should turn in his genius card. Finally he just sighed, “I’m going to go catch up with them.”

“They won’t let you go,” Minerva informed him quickly.

“Why?”

“Probation.”

Where would they be going that he couldn’t go because of… Oh. Right. Maybe he should turn in his genius card, “Got it. I thought they weren’t going to do anything illegal?”

Albus snorted, “I’m guessing they decided not to get caught.”

“Are we telling Harry?”

“Obviously not,” The transfiguration professor set him with a look, as the band of teenagers came back into the room behind him, heading for the stairs to stress in their room until Harry’s precious playbook was returned. Once their door shut upstairs she continued, “What good would that do?”

“Fair enough, I suppose,” Gellert thought, tilting his head and staring into the fire.

Albus sighed, “Please stop trying to get a vision. I don’t want to know.”

“Then shield and don’t look,” He instructed his mate, “I do.”

It took about half an hour before Harry’s charmed playbook came soaring into the house and landed on the coffee table with a patronus right behind it. It was a doe that Albus quickly recognized. Severus informed them that he was with the others and that they were still helping with the fallout of today, not to let the kids out of the house, and that they would be back for dinner.

Narcissa, who had come in and was sitting with Minerva and Tonks at the small table, was the first to roll her eyes, “And then they dropped off the map for a couple hours. No one to ever know what happened.”

“I wouldn’t say no one, Cissy,” Gellert told her, where he had nagged Albus into getting his crystal ball from Hogwarts, which now sat on the coffee table.

“God, I hope no one ends up in prison,” Albus muttered. 

“Do we need to send you upstairs with the children?” Minerva demanded exasperated, “Because we’d like to actually know what's happening.”

“You’re fine with this?”

“Albus, if you’d done what I told you and brought Harry back to Hogwarts fourteen years ago,” Minnie informed him, “I’d have done what they’re doing myself.”

His hands raised in surrender, “I’m going to check on the boys.”

“Good,” Was the chorus from all four, as the chess board was moved to be replaced with the crystal ball and Gellert joined the witches.

Albus went upstairs, taking Teddy and Carpi with him. He was curious about what the teenagers were doing and took Harry’s playbook to hopefully bribe his way into their confidence. Knocking on Harry’s bedroom door, he was bid to enter.

Inside, Fred quickly grabbed the book from him, flipping through the pages to make sure nothing had been tampered with. The Headmaster had been less protective of war secrets and he was pretty sure that his mates would say the same thing. The lions were definitely hunting this year. 

The teenager in question was sitting in a charmed chair, elevated off the ground and tilted back, while George drew something on his chest. Neville and Draco were standing over them. Looking around Albus spotted Newt’s new book opened to the section on thestrals and, as he came closer, saw the words ‘Legends Never Die’ emblazoned on Harry’s chest under a rough sketch of one of the beasts, “Really, another tattoo? The ink is barely dry on the first one.”

“Of all the things you’ve caught me doing in the last five days,” Harry pointed out, “Is this really what you want to argue over?”

“We want it to trot in a circle and then show off it’s wings, just like in the picture,” Neville informed the redheaded artist, pointing to the creature in Newt’s book.

Draco, who was also standing over his mate observing, hissed at George,“No, no! It’s a thestral, not a pony. Make that face a little more intimidating.”

“If you weren’t going to be face to face with it so often,” The Weasley mocked, “I wouldn’t have to take your opinion into consideration.”

“Don’t start,” Harry blocked the two, as Draco’s mouth opened to retort, “There are adults present.”

Albus laughed at that, “I suppose I’m one of the last people that can complain about it… Abby will be a real joy though.”

It took a moment, but suddenly all five teenagers turned to look at him, Harry finding his voice first, “You have tattoos?”

He chuckled, “Hate to tell you, Little Prince, but I’m the reason your father and godfather were hell bent to get them back in the day. Have you ever seen Sirius’ brands?”

“Not yet,” Harry admitted, “I’ve been meaning to bug him about it, but we’ve been a little busy. What do you have?”

“I have a lion on my right bicep from when I was sixteen and in school, a drawing of Fawkes on my other arm that is charmed to help connect us; no, I am not telling you to do the same,” Albus cut the teenager off when he saw the idea spark in his green eyes, feeling he needed to put it on the record that he wasn’t encouraging Harry, but knowing it wasn’t going to make the slightest damn difference, “and a Deathly Hallows symbol that your Grandpa Gellert drew on my forearm back in ‘99 with ‘For the Greater Good’ below it in his handwriting.”

Harry grinned, “Can we see them?”

Albus just rolled his eyes, remembering when James and Sirius had finally found out and made the same demand. Of course, the two had only been eight, and upon Aberforth absolutely forbidding it, he had loved nothing more than defying his annoying baby brother. It wasn’t even all his fault; Orion had tattoos as well! As much as Abby liked to blame Albus, the only reason that Sirius and James had gotten away with getting their first brand at fourteen was because the tattoo artist they thought they were bribing was Orion’s artist and got his permission to do the job. He wondered if his nephews ever even realized that?

Still, he slipped his shirt off, leaving him in a white tank and grey pants, letting the teenagers see the three good sized tattoos. He had been wearing suits and robes for so long, it felt odd to be showing them off again, although not as odd as it would have been prior to going to Nurmengard with Percy and Gellert.

“Wicked,” All five chorused.

He let the boys see and then settled on the unoccupied bed, while Teddy and Capri played with the preening phoenixes at the foot of the four poster. The little girl had called the tattoo of his familiar pretty, and apparently all the birds thought that they were far better than any tattoo. He couldn’t imagine where Newt got the idea that phoenixes were territorial and vain, not even a little bit. Nope! Especially not the red one who the picture was a bloody drawing of. 

If Fawkes preened any harder, he was going to break his own beak. 

The teens were trying to get Harry’s tattoo drawn perfectly, so that they could then copy it to Neville. From what Albus gathered from Draco, the blonde didn’t like tattoos as he was entirely too particular and finicky to put something permanent on his body by choice. So, despite the very badass tri-duel that they had participated in early today, the Black heir was perfectly content to manage his mate’s ink and not go under the needle personally.

It took several hours to get the drawing where all the boys were happy with it. Albus had to admit that Harry’s chest looked damn impressive, as the all black beast pranced above the words in a delicate cursive, rather than a bold black print... there had been a large debate that Draco won... The thestral then flared its wings, as white eyes pierced any onlookers, “You two could always become tattoo artists, if you get bored with your joke shop.”

“We’ve discussed it,” George admitted, “But this is really my thing. Just like Quidditch was his.”

“He only ever did that for me and Angie,” Fred disclosed, “So, we’re going with the joke shop.”

“Maybe, one day, if we’re established,” George said, a little shy, “I’d like to open my own shop for this though.”

“You’re amazing at it,” He encouraged the prankster.

Harry and Neville switched places and Harry padded into the bathroom to get a better look in the mirror. He didn’t bother with shutting the door, so Albus could still see his grandson’s reflection. The young Gryffindor was thrilled with the thestral in the center of his chest, if his broad smile was any indication. Albus watched him looking over his arms and glancing in the mirror toward his familiars a couple of times. He knew Harry’s planning face now and wasn’t going to try to actively dissuade him.

Having two creatures with the abilities Hedwig and Hektor did always knowing exactly where he was might be a pain in the arse some days, but Albus knew his grandson needed all the allies he could get. Boy seemed to get into just as much trouble as the Marauders before him. The Headmaster wondered if the teen and his mates would try to elope too? Luna being a year younger than them should stop the triad, so Narcissa would be happy about that.

The fae was not expecting the teenager to start tracing a finger over the word ‘freak’ that was carved over his belly button in capital letters. It made his grandfather’s stomach roll to even look at it, knowing he was the reason that Harry was there to endure such treatment. But, the teen still had the same look of planning on his face so something was going on in the boy’s head. Despite little things that had slipped the past couple of days, the teenager still shielded like a champ most of the time, and Albus was sure that would take a while to relax, even around his family.

As the kids were still occupied with the birds, and Fred and Draco with Neville and George, Albus went over to the bathroom and put up a weak silencing barrier wandlessly, “What are you thinking?”

Harry jolted, realizing that his grandfather had been watching him. He blushed, “I umm… Sorry.”

“What for?” Albus asked, “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was just curious.”

“I know people don’t like looking at them,” Harry sighed, “It’s disgusting.”

Whatever they were doing to the Dursley’s was not enough, it would never be, “What was done to you was disgusting. But having scars is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“People look so horrified whenever I don’t have glamours on. I should start wearing them again. I’ve been terrified the last couple hours that Teddy or Capri would look up and notice.”

Albus sighed, “I put up a disillusionment charm. Not because you’re disgusting, let me be very clear. But, because you’re fifteen and shouldn’t have to try and explain what you endured to a couple of toddlers.”

“Thank you,” Harry said it so earnestly that it felt like Albus’ heart was being ripped out.

“Harry, people are horrified by what you had to endure, not by you,” He stressed the last part and he’d say it a billion times if that’s what it took for the boy to believe him, “You don’t need to use magic to hide them. If people weren’t abhorred by what he was willing to do to a ten year old, and it kills me to know you were probably younger than that, then they aren’t your friend and we should all be concerned about their mental faculties.”

The boy huffed and his hand ran over the word again, so Albus pushed, “What were you thinking?”

“What part?”

“All of it. I like hearing what you’re thinking.”

Harry blushed, “I started thinking about where I’m going to put my tributes to Hedwig and Hektor. At first I was thinking my wrists but yesterday, when I knew I was getting a new wand, I was reading about the tattoos you can get to store them there when they aren’t in use and that seems too practical to pass up. So, I’ll definitely do that. I’m thinking of putting Iggy and Hektor on my bicep and shoulders instead.”

“Makes sense.”

“Then I started thinking about wanting to do something with the colors that came out of my wand, but that felt like it would need to be something more abstract and artistic,” Harry told him, “So, I was thinking… I mean, I’m never going to go around using the word freak like it’s a new term of endearment, but Draco says his mother swears reclaiming something can be powerful. So, I thought of doing the letters in black, white, silver, gold, and bronze, then doing a rainbow colored shield around it and my belly button. It might make it look less scary if I don’t do the glamours.” 

“All amazing ideas,” Albus told him, “When would you want to get them?”

“Well, I can’t do magic until it gets built back up...”

“So you may as well lay around and get tattoos?” He chuckled, “Abby will be so very thrilled.”

“Why does he hate them if Grandpa Orion had them too?”

Albus snorted as they went back into the bedroom area, no one else aware of their private discussion, “He doesn’t hate them. He hates how young Sirius and James were when they became hell bent to get their own lions like mine. You’ve also now joined that campaign. Although, they were fourteen when they snuck off.”

“And Grandpa Orion let them?”

“Yep,” Albus assured, “His artist fire called him and warned him that his sons had just walked into the shop. He knew what they wanted; they’d been talking about it since they were eight.”

“Did they always want to be in Gryffindor?”

“Oh God, yes,” He was flooded with fond memories at the thought, “See Grandpa Percy went to Illvermorny and was a Wampus. Gellert was terrified for your Grandpa Flea when it was time for him to go to school, so he sent him to me at Hogwarts. We never talked about it or anything, but I knew why they did it.”

“But, wouldn’t Ilvermorny have been safer? With Grandpa Graves as Director in the states?”

Albus was well aware that the others were listening to them now, he could feel all eyes on him, “Well, see… Harry, you have to understand, being Director as a vampire back then, it was unheard of. Think of it like this, I was only able to let Remus come to school a generation ago. I know it’s sick that he often still feels like a monster, but you have to realize how much he’d been forced to endure that accusation his entire life before Hogwarts and meeting this family.”

“And people said the same thing about Grandpa Percy?” It was a hushed whisper, disbelieving to the core, and he loved his grandson for that.

“Unfortunately, yes. So, your Grandpa Flea was actually disappointed to not get to follow in Percy’s footsteps as a Wampus, but he felt like Gryffindor was the equivalent and was thrilled to be placed there,” Albus told him, “James was so excited to keep a new tradition going and Sirius was thrilled to join his best friend and stick it to Walburga Black… Plus, I think he thought he’d take after Abby if he was a Gryffindor”

All the boys laughed heartily at that, “So, when their fourteen year old selves walked into that tattoo shop, Orion told the man to go on and just do it. Abby raged for a damn month… Then your mother brewed that heritage potion and we had bigger problems.”

Once Neville’s tattoo was done, it took far less time than Harry’s since George could magically copy the already designed outline for the other boy, the artist set out to sketch the other ideas Harry had for himself. The twin and siren set over in the window seat, while Albus wound up reading Newt’s new text to the small kids, and giving the room a few little anecdotes about the creatures mentioned that he’d had the pleasure of meeting. Draco and Fred got lost in a debate about Viktor Krum’s upcoming World Cup match and the challenges the man was going to face going up against Egypt’s national team. 

Capri was absolutely taken with the images of Newt’s unicorn, Kachina, and her foal, Kenzie, running her hand over the image from under Albus’ arm, while Teddy was suitably enamoured with the magizoologist’s pegasus on the adjacent page, also named Pegasus, of solid white, on the Headmaster’s other side. When he felt nostalgia and longing strum across his mating bond once more, the fae looked up to find Gellert standing in the doorway, staring at the three of them. 

The seer blushed terribly before looking away to what the teenagers were doing, as he forced the feelings under his shield. The fae let him move into the room to admire Harry’s new tattoo without forcing the conversation, but it did remind him that he was owed that discussion at the very least.

“Another one?” Gellert asked his grandson, refusing to look back at Albie with the toddlers, “Already?’

“They’re already planning more,” Draco told the previous Dark Lord, “I think this is his way of rebelling since he can’t do magic at the moment.”

The older siren laughed, “I suppose that’s better than challenging sociopaths every other day. What else are you getting?”

Despite the fact that the man was shielding to avoid him, Albus forced a warning about the shield Harry wanted across their bond using legilimency. Harry started with the simple wand tattoo, before moving on to the phoenixes that would go on each shoulder, and, although the oldest redhead could see that he was hesitant, let George show off the shield that would center around his scarred stomach. The Headmaster was glad that he’d warned his mate, as even with it, his seer’s eyes still hardened, but G complimented the artistry and idea, as long as it made Harry feel better. 

Narcissa called that dinner was almost ready and the rest of the family was making their way back. So, after Harry put on a shirt, the teens took off ready for dinner, before George was ready to start on the other four tattoos. Hungry, Capri and Teddy abandoned their beasts, running after the older kids.

Gellert tried to escape after them quickly, but was unsuccessful. Instead, he found himself pinned to the wall just a few feet outside Harry’s room by Albus, the fae’s button up held loosely in the hand next to the seer’s head, “If you think you can just ignore me, you’re wrong.”

“You’d know, you’re the master of it,” He tried to snap and get out of the conversation.

Albus wasn’t moved to anger, only chuckling in response, “Fair, at least I’m working on it... Do you want another baby, G?”

He snorted, avoiding looking into those baby blues that could read him like a book, “It doesn’t matter. Percy would never go for it in a million years. I had to beg him for Flea and he only consented to that if he carried him… I pouted all nine months.”

“You were clearly shielding this morning when you were left holding two small kids,” Black and white eyes found his, wide as saucers, and it made Albus laugh, “When you first sent Flea to Hogwarts, I couldn’t help but imagine the two of you with him. It was… tempting.”

Gellert smiled softly, he hand coming up to trail over the other wizard’s goatee, “Whenever he would come home, it was all Professor Dumbledore this and that and more; you were all he could talk about. I was prepared for it, but, even if he’d never admit it, that was when Percy first developed a crush on you. Seeing how much our son loved you was too much for him.”

Scarlett eyebrows raised, “Prepared for it?”

Gellert huffed, nothing but their breath between their lips now, “Albie, even when it was you with your brother and sister, the idea of one day making you a father was always… I guess you’re right, tempting is the only word for it. I would have given anything to see you with Lily, just for a moment...”

Suddenly they were kissing and neither of them was sure who started it. It was needy and demanding and both forgot the rest of the world for some time.

“Excuse me,” Minerva cut in from the end of the hall. She watched as the two jumped apart like she’d struck them, “When the fifteen year olds have more self control, I’m left with concern. Get to dinner, honestly!”

Grindelwald turned and was down the stairs before she could even blink, while Albus glared at her, putting his shirt back on. She raised an eyebrow at her best friend until he rolled his eyes but fixed his face, before she started following him back toward the kitchen, “Everything alright?”

He sighed, “It’s fine. We were just… talking about the kids.”

She rolled her eyes, “For the love of God, just have ten. You’ve been avoiding each other for a century, do get on with it.”

Laughter bubbled out of him, “Minnie, it’s not that easy. We’ve already got Harry and his whole band to worry about.”

“Oh please, he’s got the same Dad energy you, James, and Percival all have,” She accused, “Severus would have had it too, if it hadn’t been for his bastard of a father. Teddy and Capri are probably the only reason Draco or Luna haven’t turned up pregnant. Have another, it’ll only distract him more.”

He knew he was staring at her, it sounded so simple the way the woman said it. She shook her head at him, “Honestly Albus, there is a reason you’ve needed hundreds of kids to distract you for the last century. Did you really not know you were doing it?”

“I loved my job,” He admitted as they headed past the living room and into the kitchen, “I never needed to think past that.”

Walking into dinner, it was surprising when none of the returning men screamed guilty as sin upon first inspection. Someone must have sold out the teen’s activities upstairs, probably Gellert, because Harry was already being forced to show off his new tattoo to his godfather. As they all got settled, George pulled out his sketchpad with the other designs, showing them to the older wizards that had returned.

The only surprise was Abby, who had deaged at some point while they were all out. It took Albus by surprise, but his dark haired brother just shrugged, “While appearing the oldest has its advantages with you lot, it’s just too hard to keep up.”

The room quieted when Harry got to explaining the final tattoo, the shield. Luckily, Narcissa had come up behind him and George, to see the designs they were flipping through, and she set Sirius and Severus a dark look from over the Potter heir’s head, saying jovially, “I think it’s an absolutely gorgeous idea!”

“Yes, it’s a gorgeous design,” Sirius said quickly, knowing better than to argue.

“It looks like Hogwarts’ shield,” Severus acknowledged his son’s effort to connect it to something meaningful, running a hand over the drawing, not wanting to anger his best friend.

Dinner conversation passed amicably from there, the teenagers showing unyielding interest in the recovery efforts taking place in Diagon Alley. Severus offered most of the explanation, since he’d been the most involved, stating that repairs should be completed before the end of the coming week. There was also discussion of a belated birthday party for Harry and Neville, since both had forgone any type of celebration in their need to pull of their debut weekend. 

Minerva finally left after the meal, needing to reply to inquiries from incoming muggle born students, as well as file all of Percy’s paperwork. She made the Headmaster and two professors promise to be at the first staff meeting of the new school year at the end of the week; after the week Harry had managed, she didn’t trust them not to find a reason to abscond. As she was about to floo away, she shot her best friend a look toward his vampire mate, suggesting him to get a move on.

Percy could tell that something had happened between his mates, as they’d stopped shielding their feelings during the exchange, although he wasn’t sure of the content. Gellert was avoiding making eye contact with either of them, although all the teenagers had a renewed interest in Sirius’, and surprisingly Orion’s, tattoos, so he could guess who had been showing off at some point during his party’s absence. He’d been pleasantly surprised by Albus’ tattoos their first night together, their siren mate having always told the vampire that he suspected the fae would remove at least one of his three brands. 

All of his own were linked to past wars, military service, or his role as Director of Security for Macusa. While he told the kids about them over dinner, they weren’t particularly interesting, so the topic quickly passed over to Sirius. He could only laugh at Abby’s ire as they all moved into the living area, Sirius letting George set up for Harry’s other tattoos in the middle of the living room.

“They aren’t putting themselves in danger or trying to escape,” Sirius informed his father, “I’m thrilled. Leave them be.”

“They are fifteen.”

“And going to do it regardless, as they’ve proven. Deal with it, old man.”

Abby continued to bitch but Albus could sense his brother’s pleasure at Sirius assuming his place as head of the family. They had worked so hard over the time since his escape from Azkaban to get the man back to a healthy place and him defying his remaining parent was a sign of hope. Sirius was always going to do things his own way, he’d been that way since he was… He’d always been that way and seeing that side of Abby’s son resurface was a relief.

“Can we do the wand first?” Harry asked, as everyone got settled.

He and George were setting up at the small table in the corner, Neville and Draco with them, while Fred pulled over a bar stool to join them. Sirius reclaimed his chair, Severus coming to sit beside him, where they could see what George was doing. Percival took to leaning on the bar, Albus joining him, while Gellert claimed a spot on one couch; Remus and Tonks took the other sofa. 

Aberforth, still bitching, went behind the bar to mix drinks. 

“Of course we can!” George told him. 

“Daddy,” Teddy ask from his place on Sirius’ lap, “When can I get a tattoo?”

“Never,” Remus said easily.

“Isn’t that a little hypocritical?” His mate asked him, “I mean, you started at fourteen too.”

“Don’t tell him that!” Remus growled at her, “He can wait until seventeen like every other wizarding kid.”

She rolled her eyes, “What? Is anyone here going to be shocked that you got the same lion as Sirius and James? Who could have possibly predicted that?! It’s not like he hasn’t seen it, Remy.”

“Yeah!” Teddy agreed with his mother, “Uncle Paddy, when can I get a tattoo?”

“Fourteen is the tradition, pup.”

“Okay!”

“Sirius!”

The floo fired and Luna stepped out, “Oh, what are you getting this time?”

“There’s a list,” George said sloppily, mouth currently holding his wand, as one hand held Harry’s arm still, and his other tried to accurately sketch the twisting details of Harry’s wand. 

“How’s our sister?” Fred checked in.

“She’s fine, still asleep,” Luna told them, taking Neville’s chair when he offered, the Longbottom heir pulling over another bar stood to join Fred, “Mione is staying with her.”

“Never thought I’d see the day that this place would become a teen hangout,” Sirius muttered and despite himself Aberforth couldn’t stop the snort that escaped him. 

The floo fired again, Tina stepping through after her granddaughter. She wandered over to the bar, taking the stool next to Percy, before locking eyes with Henry Jr, “What’s the clever excuse this time?”

“I’ve got nothing,” Harry told her, “You know, you were there.”

“I was… I’ve got to admit, that was pretty impressive. If you don’t want to work for Sirius, you’ve got a spot waiting for you at Macusa,” she told the teenager.

“He’s forbidden from becoming an auror,” Narcissa informed her, “And he’s also got a couple of years before it’s an issue.”

Percy waved off the newly titled Director’s raised eyebrow, as Queenie stepped through and joined Gellert on the couch. He wasn’t willing to fight with Narcissa on Harry’s career path when, in fact, they did have a couple of months before career paths even came up for the young man at school.

Tina waited until everyone had gotten started on their own conversations, “How did it go?”

“It’s been handled,” Percy said, “Nothing would ever be enough. But, he won’t ever hurt another kid.”

“The woman?”

Albus tensed on Percy’s other side. Harry had told him that Petunia was just trying to protect herself and her son. It wasn’t an excuse, but he knew his grandson had been willing to risk his entire operation being discovered to protect his cousin from that dementor and, despite their history, that was what Lily would have done for her sister. He didn’t know what justice would have been, if it was possible, but he just prayed Harry wouldn’t be horrified at what one part of his family had done to another, if he ever found out. 

“Handled, then relocated with the other boy.”

“Good.”

“Where are these familiars I’m hearing about?” Queenie asked from the sofa.

Harry grinned at the older witch, who reminded him of Neville’s grandmother if she’d relax a little, “They’re upstairs.”

“I’ll get them!” Capri hollered, running for the stairs from Severus’ lap. Teddy quickly abandoned his own godfather to go with her.

“How goes it, Georgie?” Fred asked, as he saw his brother casting the charm on Harry’s wand tattoo.

“The easy one is now over,” he told his twin, “It’s a good thing the new feather beaks are coming down; I need to see them. We’re going to have to do the shield last.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, “I don’t care, I’m just curious as to why.”

“Because I need you to lay flat on the table for that one,” George told him, as the younger teen’s wand disappeared into his tattoo.

They all turned at the sound of the front door opening, wondering who from the Order would be showing up now. It wound up being Alastor Moody, who walked in and rolled his eyes at the teenagers in the corner, “Black, we need to talk.”

“Two weeks was the final answer, Moody,” Sirius reminded him, “If you need someone before then, I suggest taking it up with Graves.”

The man sighed, moving toward a bar stool, “It’s not that, your mate was quite clear on the issue of your return date.”

Narcissa sniffed and rose to go and get tea. She didn’t care how many stunts Harry pulled, the Ministry was not going to endanger her mate’s mental health by demanding he come back before he was ready.

“What then?” Sirius asked his mentor, trying to hide a smile at his mate’s little mood.

“Pettigrew is asking to speak with you.”

Remus growled so loudly Tonks jumped from her spot next to him, while the toddlers, who were trying to balance two phoenixes almost as big as they were on their shoulders coming down the stairs, almost tumbled. Fawkes, who was flying over their heads, startled to the point that Hedwig and Hektor also took flight. Luna quickly received the augurey onto her arm, while Hedwig flew over to nestle on the back of Harry’s chair.

“As much as I appreciate the spirit of that, Moony,” Sirius said to his friend before turning back to his old boss, “Do we know what he wants with me?”

“He claims to know the secret of Potter’s scar,” Moody disclosed, “And why Voldemort was able to come back to life.”

Harry laughed without humor, where George was sketching Hedwig onto the shoulder of his wand arm, “Well, he’s a little late to the party.”

Percy heard an echo snort next to him and looked over to see Albus’ shoulders shaking as the wizard attempted not to laugh. By the time he looked back toward his grandson, those green eyes had already sought out his red haired grandfather with an eye roll, “Do you want to tell them or should I?”

Albus shrugged, “Let me take a shot at it… Remember that vision you had of Harry and I talking by the lake, G?”

The previous Dark Lord sighed, “Yes.”

“Well, see, we weren’t just talking about the horcruxes that Voldemort made; you know, the ones Harry threw between them before the duel today.”

“Okay, then,” Gellert allowed, “What were you talking about?”

“Did you see Harry collapse from a potion in the vision?”

“Yes, his magic was too weak to bear it, you gave him a boost.”

“That’s true, but the potion itself,” Albus told the room, “Was to remove the part of Voldemort’s soul that was trapped in Harry from the night he killed James and Lily.”

“What?!” Remus, Severus, and Sirius all screamed at the same moment. 

Harry waved them off, “This was days ago! Relax, I’m fine now.”

Percy snorted, “I don’t know what part of that statement is the most terrifying.”

Moody was staring at the teenager, “Are there any others?”

“No, I had found them all before I challenged him. They were either destroyed or about to be.”

“I asked you if there was anything else I needed to know,” Sirius hissed at him, “And you didn’t think ‘I have a piece of my parents’ killer’s soul in me’ was applicable?”

“I didn’t at that point!” Harry defended himself, “It didn’t come to mind because I’d taken care of it.”

Severus crossed his arms and towered over his son, “What sort of potion would be able to remove something like that?’ I mean, you would have had to…”

Harry could see the horror dawn in his father’s eyes, “Technically, yes. But it’s not like I’m not sitting here right now!”

“Do you want me to slap him again?”

All the adults jolted at Luna’s offer, especially Severus. He stared at the little blonde girl, surprised by the absolute compassion that he found there. Thinking about the last couple days, he realized that she’d been on the receiving end of Harry’s schemes as much as any of the adults in the family. Draco grew up with Lucius, he’d been used to having to scheme himself; his godson hadn’t even considered selling Harry out to his mother or godfather. 

Luna grew up with her father and the Scamanders, her mother’s family. A family so similar to the Weasley clan that it was shocking the two weren’t closer related. Adults were not the enemy to her; she’d have gone running to her father and grandfather the second she found out any of the seer’s plans. As a matter of fact, that was exactly what the girl had done. She was their ally in Harry’s friend group, his band of knights that were ready to die for him without question. The potions master noted that he’d need to stay close to his son’s youngest mate, if he wanted to have a clue what the boy was up to.

“No, Luna, that’s okay. He’s here, that’s what matters,” Severus told her, shooting his son a dark look, even as he said it.

Albus saw the moment that Severus earned his first spy in Harry’s ranks but said nothing. He’d done the same thing with his Slytherin son to James and Lily some twenty years ago. It was for his grandson’s own good.

There was a loud cracking sound and everyone’s head snapped toward the bar.

“Ow!” Percy said, rubbing the back of his head, “What the hell did I do?”

“Oh please!” Tina hissed at him, “What did you do!? Everyone wants to blame the redhead but that is all you! I knew I never should have let Jimmy name him after you! Stupid cloakers.”

The Potter Lord grinned, winking at his wide eyed grandson, “What can I say, we’re Peverell’s. It runs in the family.”

“I’m a cloak! I’ve got the greatest hallow!” Tina mocked in a whiny voice, “Let me go out in glory laced martyrdom while I’m still young! It’s a miracle that any of us live long enough to have children quite frankly!”

“Of the lesser hallows,” Percy corrected her, downing the rest of his drink.

“What?” Tina demanded in her normal voice, missing his meaning.

“It is the greatest,” Percy told her, “Of the lesser hallows. Funny how a true cloak never forgets that part.”

Sirius chuckled, “Gods, I still want to be you when I grow up.”

“Ditto,” Remus agreed with his best friend. 

Fred and George shared a look, “For those of us that didn’t grow up Peverells…”

“...Could one of you please explain…”

“...What is the gods names…”

“He just said?”

Percy laughed, “You’ve both heard The Tale of the Three Brothers?”

“Of course.”

“There were three lesser hallows,” Percy explained to them, “Three things that are worth both living and dying for; liberty, love, and life. The wand represented liberty, it was called the shielding hallow, as those that live for that hallow will always try and throw themselves before others to protect them. It’s how Blondie over there got called The Liberator, because he found the wand, even though it’s not his personal hallow.”

The kids were all mesmerized by the description, even as George moved to start on Hektor’s representation on Harry’s other arm. Even Teddy and Capri, who were familiar with the story, were captivated by that Potter lord’s rendition.

“Then there is the stone; the connector hallow. That one is pretty simple, it represents love. Individuals with that hallow are known for drawing people to them, gluing communities together, even if they don’t mean to. For good or ill, they are the rally cry and the call for peace,” Percy told them, leaning against the wall behind his husband’s sofa, where everyone could see him.

“Finally, there’s the cloak; the greatest of the lesser hallows. Those people that are willing to greet death like an old friend. The willingness to defend life, even if it means giving life,” Percy shot his best friend a dirty look, “We do not look for death, but we’ve never run from it either.”

He smiled over at his grandson, “Only a true master of death could learn the lessons of all three and cross the boundaries of life and death, be tempted by all the lesser hallows but give them up without corruption… That’s the legend anyway.”

“Alright, I’m ready to do the shield,” George told his younger brother, “I need you to lay down flat.”

“Let him lay on the sofa instead,” Sirius pointed out, “Just sit on the floor. That will be easier.”

Queenie quickly moved to the table that Harry and the other teenagers vacated, her sister joining her, along with Narcissa. The two older witches were shocked, although they hid it better than most, when Harry finally removed the tank top he’d been wearing through his other tattoos. The legilimens had to agree with Tina’s work husband, what he and his family had done to those monsters could never be enough.

Still, seeing her old friend with his grandson was heartwarming. It was charming how quickly Gellert’s heir settled, his head in the older seer’s lap, relaxed as could be.

The seer knew what was coming the moment Harry’s head landed in his lap, so he felt more than he heard the younger siren’s demand of, “Sing something.”

He smiled, “What do you want to hear?”

“Caledonia.”

He smiled, never able to deny the boy his favorite, “I don't know if you can see, the changes that have come over me… In these past few days I've been afraid that I might drift away… So I've been telling old stories, singing songs, that make me think about where I came from… and that's the reason why I seem… so far away today…”

It had been so long since either of them had heard Gellert sing, that both his mates froze for a second at the opening to ‘Caledonia’. 

Everyone else was clearly mesmerized by the sound of the siren’s voice, as even Sirius, who had heard it often in his youth, sunk into his father’s recliner with Capri, eyes glued to the wizard. The teens had never heard any sirens besides Harry, so they sat in awe, listening contentedly, even as George worked on the final tattoo the Potter heir wanted. 

The sound cause mist to appear in Narcissa’s eyes, having not heard such a thing since her grandmother died.

As Gellert kept singing, Percy was leaning with one shoulder against the wall behind his husband and grandson. It took a moment, but he felt Albus come up behind him, the redhead’s hands going around his waist, his chin hooking over the vampire’s shoulder. He grabbed the hand adorned with the silver phoenix that rested on his stomach.

“...now I'm sitting here, before the fire, the empty room, the forest choir… the flames have cooled, don't get any higher… they've withered now, they've gone… and I'm steady thinking, my way is clear, and I know what I will do tomorrow… When the hands have shaken, and the kisses flowed, and I will disappear…” He finished the last chorus, running his hand through the hair of the teen in his lap. His relief that the boy was here couldn’t be put into words. He’d spent every minute of the day pacing, terrified that the teen was going to lose. 

It was cute that as he finished, Tonks and Remus took a suddenly exhausted Teddy home for bedtime, not wanting him to catch a second wind. Narcissa also took Capri to bed, thinking the same thing. But, the toddlers weren’t the only ones the exhausting day was starting to catch up with apparently, as Harry barely made it through George finishing his shield before starting to doze off. 

Moody left, relieved that Pettigrew was useless and that Sirius wouldn’t have to face the bastard again. And the Goldstein sisters left with Luna, when it was obvious that the boys were about to collapse. The twins followed them out, as they’d sworn to their mother they’d return to the Burrow after a check in. Harry, Draco, and Neville disappeared up the stairs.

The deathly trio assured Sirius and Narcissa that they’d show themselves out. The parents were as exhausted as they could be. Severus followed them upstairs, reclaiming the bedroom that he’d slowly come to think of as his own this past week, rather than trying to go back to Spinner’s End. 

Sighing, Gellert moved around the sofa, hooking his arms around Percy as well, staring at the two loves of his life, “We should have another.”

Percy felt Albus’ lips on the back of his neck form into a grin and couldn’t stop an eye roll. After a second, he succumbed to the temptation to wrap his arms around G, pulling the siren against him, “Is there even a point to arguing with you two?”

“No,” they chorused. 

“Fine,” the vampire conceded to his mates, smiling at the light he saw spring into his siren’s black and white eyes, “Let’s have another.”


	7. Epilogue: Confessions & Cars

Waking up in Nurmengard was beginning to become the new normal the week before students returned to Hogwarts. Albus was not looking forward to facing Harry’s first year as the Dark Lord Tamer, Master of Death, and, of course, as was tradition, also, The Boy Who Lived. As a result, his sleep pattern was becoming more and more restless, so he wasn’t even surprised when he once again woke up in the middle of the night. 

All his grandson wanted was a normal year; what if they couldn’t make that happen?

While he was struggling, Gellert had become the resident hard sleeper, as his probation was reworked to have him as a general consultant for Sirius, as Head Auror, and Theseus, as Commander of Special Operations. He glanced over at the blonde, who was wrapped around their vampire’s pillow. Percy had the gaul to suggest what their lives would have been like if they’d all just gotten together and Gellert had become an auror instead of a Dark Lord. The conjurmed image was so alluring that Albus had jested about demanding a refund on the last century.

Realizing that the vampire wasn’t in bed with them, he dazedly followed his side of their bond. The soon to be professor wasn’t anywhere in the suite, Albus soon realized, but it was too late to go back for a shirt or shoes. He had to take the lift all the way down to the basement of Nurmengard, but the Headmaster was unprepared for the sight that greeted him upon exiting.

There was a sea of cars and motorbikes in the basement of Nurmengard!

In the middle of the chaos of metal and vibrant color sat Percy, working on some car with his wand in one hand and a tool in the other, while he wore nothing but a black pair of sweatpants. At least Albus didn‘t feel underdressed in his red silk pajama bottoms; he was pretty sure this pair belonged to Percy anyway. Moving toward the vampire, the Headmaster quickly had to acknowledge that he might not have known mechanics were a kink of his, but still, here they were.

“So, you’re responsible for that travesty Harry’s second year?” Albus demanded, not knowing of any other wizard powerful enough to combined muggle technology and magic in such an advanced way, much less having the patience to teach Sirius and Arthur how to do it, “And for that abhorrence Sirius used to ride?”

“That abhorrence is being returned to him,” Percy informed his mate, “And his new model is sitting right over there.”

The redhead groaned, Narcissa was going to end up pregnant by the next semester. He could already tell… Thinking about that topic, he wondered if he should ask Percy about…

Sensing his mate’s shield start to reflexively go up, Percy sighed, “Please don’t do that. Just ask me whatever you want to.”

The fae blushed, he had to do better about remembering the vampire’s natural legilimency.

“No, you need to do better about just saying what you’re thinking. I feel like you were just telling me how you had to have this same conversation with the boy!”

Albus had to grin at that, “How do you feel about Harry?”

It was such an odd question that Percy froze, only for a second, before setting his tool and wand aside, before turning to face Albus, hip leaning against the car, arms crossing over his chest. He wasn’t new to this ballgame. He had another mate who was equal parts genius and gorgeous; when the siren got something on his mind there was no avoiding that either. Hell, just look at how quickly Percy had been convinced to have another kid! Having the two great minds back together was proving hell on his ability to win any argument; so far he hadn’t minded.

The two were like cats, of course they were a cat leaning family. Well, except for his traitorous godson and Orion. At least he’d won the day with Harry on that front. And, anyway, his mates were like cats. They were the most independent of creatures, vain and territorial, so long as they didn’t decide to need attention. Once that happened, well, the last time he’d denied Gellert attention they didn’t speak for thirty years and G sat depressed in Nurmengard for even longer.

Albus chuckled, moving to stand in front of Percy, hip also leaning on the car, “Who needs to answer the question now?”

Eyes snapping back to the fae, not having realized they ever moved, and it took him a moment to recall the reference to their first morning in Nurmengard, “Is the anticipation killing you?”

“Just a little.”

They both snickered, knowing Gellert would have a conniption at their joke.

Percy finally shrugged, “I love him. I don’t think there is much that kid could ask me for that I wouldn’t hand over to him gladly… I mean, when I first saw him the other week...”

Albus realized, “That was the first time you’d seen him since he was a baby.”

The older wizard laughed, “I was already in the country; I always kept a flat here for emergencies. Abby didn’t tell me about the Order’s mission, but he said he wanted me in the country before Harry’s hearing in case something happened. And G had already accused him of being up to something when he disappeared into the muggle world. They’d never stopped contact during the summer, not for that long anyway. Then the dementor happened and...”

“No wonder Abby sent you after them so fast.”

“Yeah, he knew I could get access to whatever resources Harry was using in Gringotts. He’d taken out the ledgers with my permission, his mother’s work at different points, tombs, as well as a property list. Other than his trust nothing else had been touched… When I walked into that apartment and saw him…” He sighed, unsure how to describe that moment.

“Can you show me?”

The older man startled, they hadn’t shared memories of that magnitude across the bond yet. Still, it was magic that they were more than capable of, so he nodded, leaning their foreheads together. Making eye contact, he took Albus to that moment.

The Headmaster was not surprised to find himself standing on the steps of Gringotts, as Percy looked over the property list. He followed the vampire through his search of four other properties around the United Kingdom, including Godric’s Hollow, before he finally moved to checking the old Marauders’ apartment. The place, ironically, wasn’t far from Grimmauld Place, but he could feel Percy’s irritation that he didn’t have access to take Harry into the headquarters until he got access through the wards.

“Abby better get a fucking move on,” Percy muttered, as he moved away from the old Black Family dwelling he still couldn’t get into and toward his grandson, “I am going to kill this kid.”

The fae giggled, following his mate through the memory. The vampire’s irritation was evident in his brisk stride as he searched for their grandchild. Once they arrived at the door, Albus felt the harshest sense of nostalgia, and, knowing it was just a memory, still felt validated when Percy of the memory’s time felt the need to run his fingers across the golden ‘M’ that was still engraved into the door.

He watched as the vampire pulled yet another key from his pocket and felt the trepidation of the moment as the dark wizard tried to unlock the door, hoping Harry had come here.

The door swung open and the sound of voices caused the Director to sag with relief. Looking around he spotted two redheads and two dark haired teens. Rolling his eyes at the memory, Albus knew Neville to be done with the night from his expression, where he was leaning on the counter with a vodka bottle, ice still frozen to the outside, against his temple, while one scarlet haired teen patted his back. Harry was standing with his back to Percy, buttoning up his shirt, while George wiped a black substance from his fingers.

They now knew it to be ink, but at the time no one could blame Percy for that not being his first inquiry. Albus observed the vampire of the memory move to lean in the doorway, temporarily unnoticed by the teenagers, just taking them in. The fae couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at the sight.

“I can’t believe we pulled it off,” Neville was saying, “My grandmother is going to have me for breakfast.”

“Oh live a little,” Fred was demanding.

“Oh we have lived more than enough for one night!” Neville hissed, “Holy shit, did that just happen?”

Fred rolled his eyes, but that was when he caught sight of the Director of Security for Macusa standing in the doorway. To be fair, Percy was smooth as fuck, nothing but his eyebrow going up at the ginger, while the twin’s eyes blew out wide as saucers.

There was silence for a moment, before the Longbottom heir snorted, “What, no smartass retort? You feeling okay, Forge?”

Without breaking eye contact from Percy, Fred reached over to grab Neville’s chin, turning him toward the Director. As a casual observer it took Albus a moment to define the noise that came out of Augusta’s grandson, but after a second to process the sound, he decided that it was somewhere between a gasp and a wheeze.

“He’s not the one who sounds like a dying cat!” George defended his twin, throwing his rag onto the table as he glanced up at the other pair. Seeing their faces, he spun quickly toward the door and looked as horrified as the other two.

“Isn’t that the truth,” Harry said, still looking down to button up his shirt. Albus noticed the other boys start glancing between their leader and the older man. His grandson remained oblivious for another couple seconds, “You know, when we managed to get here, I thought there would be more drinking and less bitching.”

Percy’s face didn’t change, revealing nothing to the trio still staring at him, but, now knowing him better, the Headmaster saw the tightening around the vampire’s mouth. He was trying not to smirk at the comment. Still, that face still probably screamed doom to the boys following Harry.

All the Longbottom heir could manage was another cross of a gasp and wheeze.

“What is wrong with you!?” Harry demanded, finally finished with his shirt and looking up.

Knowing what he did now, that this was after his grandson had faced down a Dark Lord and dropped Peter off outside Azkaban during shift change, it was surprising how calm the boy was. As a matter of fact, even when his first sight was his friends shocked faces, he didn’t spin around ready for a fight, his face only scrunching up like a bunny’s in confusion as he turned. 

It only took Albus a moment to admit that it was probably because his friends weren’t ready for a fight either.

When the teenager turned, Albus spotted instantly why Percy couldn’t describe the moment with words. Yes, Harry’s eyes blew out larger than any of his friends, but it wasn't surprise, or fear, or even trepidation. Instead, the fifteen year old’s face transformed into the most blinding grin the scarlet observer had ever seen, his wonder obvious, “Grandpa Percy!”

All signs of irritation were instantly gone from the vampire and Albus didn’t blame him. The Gryffindor leader had bought himself out of trouble with the fierce Director, unintentionally, with one genuine reaction. It was absolutely charming and, since he was able to feel Percy’s emotions about the moment, it reminded the headmaster of Harry’s reaction to finding his adult wand.

The vampire pushed himself off the doorway, raising his arms for a hug that the exuberant teen happily jumped into, “Snuck away from a team of highly trained aurors and a werewolf with your number! You four have an audaciousness I’m not even sure the Marauders managed.”

Harry beamed up at his grandfather, pulling away only enough to look up at him, “Great, perfect, now I need you to that exact thing to Sirius!”

Percy laughed, pulling away to inspect Harry closer. After a few moments, hand on the teen’s cheek, the vampire informed him, “I’ve been sent to bring you lot in. You need to get back to Grimmauld Place, everyone is worried sick.”

“Ugh, how about you just mute your mating bonds and we stay here?” Fred muttered, pulling Neville’s makeshift shift ice pack away to take several swings.

Harry glared at his friend but didn’t otherwise respond.

Percy looked curious but shook his head, “Sorry, boys, but your time is up. Don’t make this any worse.”

Harry shrugged, “It’s fine, we were about to head back anyway.”

“Speak for yourself,” George said, “I’d be halfway to Canada if Fred hadn’t needed that drink!”

The boys grabbed their jackets, moving toward the door, with Percy keeping eyes on all four. The vampire stopped and leaned on the wall by the door frame, as Harry locked up with his own key, before he turned to just stare at his grandfather, still grinning. Percy raised his eyebrow at the teen, still surprised by Harry’s absolute giddiness.

The boy blushed, “I just can’t believe you’re here!”

Percy’s head tilted in genuine confusion as Harry turned to face him, his back to his friends who were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, “I told you I was coming for the trial.”

“Yeah, yeah, but that’s an official hearing,” Harry dismissed, gesturing to Percy’s being with both hands, “I’m talking about the fact that you’re, like, right here!”

When the boy flew into his arms again, Albus could feel a deep amount of guilt from Percy. He observed the two hugging, the pain on the vampire’s face, and realized that the man hadn’t thought Harry cared much about his grandcarrier who had left for the States so many years before. Yes, Harry wrote to him, but how much of it seemed like he didn’t need Percy? He was sure their letters had felt very matter of fact, if the teen always let it seem like Gellert and Albus had things under control.

Harry let go of his grandcarrier and took off for the stairs after his friends. Watching Percy slowly follow after them, he knew he was watching the moment that the vampire started to mentally pen his letter of resignation to Macusa. Once the oldest reached the bottom of the stairs, he slung an arm over Harry’s shoulders and let the teenagers tell him all about their daring escape from the legendary Order of the Phoenix, grandeur lacing every word. Harry’s friends took to Percy quickly, adding in details of their part in the caper, as they danced around the man and his grandson, moving through London’s streets.

Albus laughed when they were only a block away and Fred said, “I can’t believe they sent Percival Graves after us.”

“I feel honored,” George agreed with him, “There is no doubt about it.”

“Huh, I hadn’t thought about it like that,” Neville admitted and Albus could almost read the question in his eyes, wondering if that fact could earn him a stay of execution from his grandmother.

Harry shrugged, “Grandpa Gellert always said this is what happens whenever Aberforth Dumbledore has had enough.”

Percy snorted, “That’s true. Your dad and Sirius would show out, then I used to get a firecall a couple times a year instructing me to bring them back to Hogsmeade for judgement whenever they made a run for it.”

“Where did they go?”

“When they were little, they’d floo to my place in the States. Then, Nurmengard once they turned fifteen and heard Abby say he’d never step foot there, when G and I first started seeing one another again.”

Harry snickered as they turned onto the street. Knowing what the teen was thinking, Albus’ right hand twitched, he wanted to cuff the boy on the head so much. The teenager must have thought himself pretty cute, knowing that his own plan to hide out in Nurmengard was about to become a reality.

Percy hissed at still not being able to get into the headquarters, “Alright, son, I have to leave you here. If I have to come back because you lot…”

Harry’s hands went up in surrender, “We’re going straight in! Gryffindor’s honor.”

The Graves Lord nodded, stealing one more hug, before apparating back to his flat, knowing they couldn’t get in with him there. Albus felt himself gently come back into time and place, still staring into his mate’s eyes. Percy snorted, “The next thing I know, I’m getting a firecall saything there was a werewolf ambush and to get my ass over.”

Albus nodded, “Is that who he is to you?”

He felt his eyebrows come together, head tilting at the younger fae.The other wizard’s thoughts were self depreciating as he thought less of himself for not being able to steer the conversation in a clear way like he wanted. Percy didn’t know who had been going around making Albus feel like every hardship in the world was his fault, but they would be having a talk when he tracked the dumbass down.

Staring into his lit blue eyes, the vampire considered what Albus might be trying to get at, trying to hear what Albus had in the memory he’d just seen. He knew the redhead didn’t mean that Harry was his great grandson to him. What else was he to him? He was his last part of Fleamont, his only son, and the last part of James and Lily, their only son. In that sense he was the first…

“Ahh,” Percy finally got it, he stepped up to run his hands up the headmaster’s arms, “Are you worried about trying for another baby right now?”

The fae felt himself go wide eyed, “What?! No! No! I… I know I want another baby, it’s just…”

“What?”

“I guess I just wanted to know if either of you felt the same way that I do about him being, you know, ours in a sense,” He saw Percy’s head tilt again and tried to shake off the conversation, “I know it sounds crazy! Nevermi…”

“No, no, it doesn’t!” Percy assured him, pulling him closer, “It’s not crazy at all! I’m sorry, I was surprised. Gellert’s always been so worried about any of the kids in the family being hurt because of who he was that I never wanted to…” The vampire locked onto those blue eyes that were usually twinkling. He wished they weren’t dulled by this serious conversation, “On July 31st, 1980, I got the best present in the world. I’ll admit that I was selfish in my mentality on that, but… I finally felt like I had a piece of you that couldn’t just be ignored or shut out. I’ll own that in a way I felt vindicated by thinking of Harry as our kid.”

Albus flinched at the honesty although he was grateful for it, sighing he admitted, “I am so sorry, Perce.”

“I didn’t say that so you would feel guilty,” the Potter Lord stated, taking a step back, wanting distance, “It doesn’t matter anym…”

“It does matter!” Albus cried, arms automatically going out to grab the other man before he could get too far away, his fingers tightening on the waistband of the vampire’s black sweats, “I know how badly I have fucked up our relationship.”

The dark haired wizard’s head tilted, stepping back into the fae’s space, “I’m not… Muting the bond is every person’s right and I know that sometimes it’s the best thing someone can do. Jimmy told me after they eloped about what happened to Sev’s mother.”

Albus flinched at the reminder of Eileen Prince’s brutal end at her mate’s hand during the future potions master’s sixth year. He had spent the next year trying to get custody of the boy to get him out of that house, regardless of the death’s classification as an accident. When James had convinced his mates to elope, so that the other man would fall under his protection rather than his father’s, after Severus confessed to his mates what happened to his mother and about the forced initiation of so many Slytherins that hellish year, the fae had to admit that he’d never been so grateful for the Potter heir’s schemes. It was still hard to believe the previous Potter mastermind wasn’t here to suffer his son with all of them.

“You are nothing like that bastard,” Albus hissed, “And I never…”

“That’s not what I meant,” Percy soothed and the Headmaster could tell that he meant it. Sighing, the vampire crossed his arms again, not sure if he could elaborate without getting too emotional. He glanced back into the car.

Albus might as well have been looking into another world, honestly, but when his mate faced him once more, red rimmed tears filling his eyes, the younger wizard had never been more tempted to rip out his own heart to offer it as a consolation, “I guess I just always wanted to know what I did. Even if you wanted to mute the bond, I wondered what I’d done so wrong that you couldn’t even acknowledge my existence.”

“You never did anything!” Albus admonished gently, both hands going to either side of the vampire’s face, putting their foreheads together, “Percy… When I…”

How did he sum up a lifetime of making things worse while trying to make them better in a succinct way? The fae sighed, but never moved from their position, “Gellert and I met up one night, once, after that three way duel. I was… Aberforth had taken off needing space and Ariana was gone. I wasn’t eating or sleeping or doing anything; I was in an inescapable void because… Bathilda had enough and drug G back and myself up to her house.”

Percy couldn’t help it, he chuckled, “She finally sent G and Sirius a howler at work yesterday. Apparently she’s been watching Harry with her sight for years and we have one week to produce her great-great-grandson or we’ll all face her wrath.”

Albus was grateful for the exasperated laugh that provided, “If anyone could match Harry James Potter toe to toe…”

“I think that’s what Siri is hoping for.”

“Well tomorrow… today, probably, is Saturday,” he said with a huff, before forcing himself to go on, “I had it out in her living room. Once I saw him, I screamed until I was blue in the face. I demanded how he could just leave me after what we shared, I asked where he’d possibly gone, and then I told him it didn’t even matter because if I never saw him again before I died, maybe I could die happy. I stormed out muting our bond, he never even got one word in, and we didn’t speak again until he ceased control of this stupid wand.”

Percy saw him shuddering at the memory and sunk down on the seat he used to work on cars, pulling the redhead down to sit on his knee. He didn’t know what to say to that. Other than the three way fight everyone knew about, which Gellert and Abby only talked about after Lily was found her fourth year, when they had to explain Albus and Orion using the older fae’s potion to have the girl, the siren had never mentioned having seen Albus between that fight and their next. He kissed the younger man’s temple, letting him hide for a second.

Burying himself in the vampire’s neck, Albus finally continued, “I didn’t even realize until later that I hadn’t even yelled at him for Ariana. Of course, everyone knew that all three of us were responsible for letting that go how it had. I never knew how to take that conversation back, or how to fix it. When Gellert found you first…”

The fae tried to pull away then, but Percy held him in place. When their eyes connected, Albus finished, “It seemed like fate telling me that I was meant to be alone, so I didn’t harm anyone else. I’m so sorry, Percy, I didn’t know how to fix the mess I’d made. And the more time passed, the more impossible it seemed.”

Percy sighed, releasing a breath that he felt he’d been holding for a century, seizing Albus hand, while holding him tighter, “I can honestly say that all I care about is you being here now. We should go get Harry once the sun's up, maybe Tante Hilda’s living room deserves a new memory.”

Albus pulled their foreheads together once more, “You never did anything wrong. Please forgive me.”

Percy surged forward, giving him a chaste kiss, “I don’t think that there is anything I couldn’t forgive you.” He laughed at that realization, “You make it very easy to see why Flea was so in love with you.”

The fae blushed, knowing G had said something similar, but still shook his head, “It’s hard to believe he had room for anyone else compared to his admiration for you.” He fiddled with the rings on their joint hands, “I was just the favorite professor; you were his god.”

The vampire busted out laughing, “That’s where you’re wrong. You were never just anything. Maybe that’s why I didn’t quite view Harry as our first kid.”

Copper eyebrows pulled together, “What?”

“Albus, Flea loved you! Do you think Gellert didn’t tell him who you were?” He demanded, “You want to talk about being someone’s god? He didn’t shut up about you for seven years! Even when I wanted to be angry at you and I had my days… It was kind of hard not to love you as much as he did. By the end of it, he was our first kid, regardless of biology.”

“Except for the fact that I was still ignoring you,” The Headmaster admitted in a quiet whisper.

“Yes, there was that one specific thing,” the new professor acknowledged.

They sat in silence for a long time, just taking comfort from one another. Neither would be able to get back to sleep at the moment, but Albus also didn’t want to move. Finally, he glanced back at the jet black car, “What is it? And do not say a car!”

Percy grinned, “It’s a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am; I bought it with mine brand new, but this one’s never been out of my garage before I brought everything here. I know car enthusiasts who would have a stroke at the magical alterations, but it’s a gift, not for collection. So they can get over themselves.”

Albus snorted, the changes meant nothing to him, “Where is yours?”

The vampire stared at him for several minutes, but his mate wasn’t sure what he’d said. After a few moments of contemplation, Percy nodded, seemingly more to himself, before tapping Albie on the knee, “Come on, I’ll show you.”

The younger wizard hopped up, moving himself out of the way as Percy put away his tools and shut the front of the car. He was surprised when the hood fell to reveal the image of a white bird, it’s snowy wings flared out across the car’s hood, when everything else about it was black as night. He ran a hand over the image, it was gorgeous.

“Is it finished?”

Percy snorted where he was still putting things up, “God no, I just started the magical changes tonight. But, I’ve got almost a year before it needs to be.”

Albus hummed as the vampire took his hand and led him deeper into the sea of metal. He was fascinated by all the bright colors and varied styles. About twenty yards from the car he’d been working on, the Potter Lord brought him to the only car in the space that was covered in a large brown tarp, he also noted a matching tarp on the ground next to the car. Why cover these two up?

Before he could ask, the vampire let go of him, and pulled the large covering from the car. He stared for a moment, before glancing back at the vehicle the vampire had been working on. In front of him was an inverted version of the black car; it was white and on its hood was a black bird, the exact same one that was on the other car. He ran a hand over it, knowing he was missing something, “I’m confused.”

Percival laughed, and sat down on the hood, gesturing to both cars, “I bought this one and that one when Lily announced that she was pregnant.”

Albus let the vampire pull him back into his lap, sitting in between Percy’s legs on the front of the car. His arms flew around the larger man’s neck.

The vampire sighed, letting one hand rest of the fae’s hip, while he placed the other on his knee, “I bought matching cars for me and Jamie; we’d just lost Flea and started working together. I don’t think we’d ever been that close before…”

Albus didn’t know how that was possible, but he chose to believe the older wizard.

“...Sirius went with us and I got him his motorcycle too,” Percy laughed, “They’re notoriously less effort to do safely, so his was done first. Then they went into hiding, so there wasn’t a rush. After, I just couldn’t look at them.”

Albus kissed him, not knowing anything else to offer. He let the moment settle then asked, “What changed?”

“When we did the belated party for Harry and Neville, G was talking about how Harry’s sixteenth birthday would be his first with the family,” The Graves Lord admitted, “And since he already knows about the Marauders’ apartment…”

The Headmaster was up so fast, he felt like he’d been hit by lightning, “No!”

Percival grinned at him.

“No! You cannot be serious!” Albus groaned, “You cannot give him a car!”

“Yes, I can,” The vampire assured him.

“Percival! He flew a car into the whomping willow at twelve!”

“There was a death eater, a rogue house elf, and a horcrux involved in that,” Percy reminded him, “I don’t think you can just blame the car.”

Albus scratched his brain for anything that might stop this travesty, “You said next year! He’s not allowed to drive until he’s seventeen.”

The vampire stood up, still smirking as he got back into Albus’ space, “Sucks for you Europeans, doesn’t it?”

The fae’s hand reflexively came up to his mate’s chest as the man stalked him around the space, as he fought, and failed, to stop a grin from breaking onto his own face, “This is a terrible idea.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is! He does not need more resources to get into trouble!”

“If not me, he’ll find one and do it himself. He’s already obsessed with the idea of Sirius’ bike.”

“Absolutely not, I forbid it!”

Percy threw his head back and laughed, “You ask Tina if it’s ever worked for her.”

“It’s the worst idea ever!”

“It’s a wonderful idea,” Percy assured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay the parking tickets.”

“You are so smug!” Albus hissed at him, right as he backed into something. Looking down he realized he had somehow gotten twisted around and now he had Percy’s favorite car at his back and the vampire at his front. When he looked up from the car, he was trapped by Percy’s arms on both sides of him.

That dark head, hair curly from where they’d been in bed, tilted as lavender eyes asked earnestly, “Do you want me to back up?”

“Hell fucking no,” Albus admitted, yanking the vampire by his waistband, locking their mouths together.


End file.
